Détente
by jbezzy2easy
Summary: Damon lost Elena, so now as promised he is leaving town, but could a kiss from our favorite witch change his mind? This is my first fanfic so please be gentle, I also don't have a beta so please excuse any grammatical errors. It's set after the Departed, but Elena doesn't change into a vampire. Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or any rights to the show, i'm just a fan.
1. Chapter 1

_Sigh no more, no more_  
_One foot in sea, one on shore_  
_My heart was never pure_  
_You know me_  
_You know me_

__Damon Salvatore peered at his reflection as he slowly buttoned his favorite long sleeved black shirt. Today was the day. The day he had been dreading for months or maybe even years now. Elena had finally chosen and unfortunately for him, his broken heart, and his bruised ego, she had chosen the wrong damn brother. But he wouldn't stick around like a third wheel and scowl about it. No, he was too freaking handsome to lose himself over one girl. He tells himself this even though he knows it's far from the truth. He wish so bad that Elena was just one girl, as far as he was concerned she was the _only_ girl. And what do you do when the only girl you love and will ever love chooses your less handsome and less charming little brother instead? You drink…heavily.

After Damon finished dressing he grabbed a black duffle bag from the bottom of his closet. He quickly filled the bag with a couple shirts and pairs of jeans and anything else that he would need for the road. When he was done packing, he tossed the bag onto his excessively large bed before grabbing his jacket and heading out of his bedroom door.

"So you finally decided wake up and help us come up with a way to stop Klaus for good," Stefan greeted his brother with as soon as he descended the last step, "Elena and Caroline are on the way over now and Bonnie is bringing the grimoire over later. "

"Darn it, I wish I could stay and help, but alas I do have an appointment I must get to so looks like you and the Scooby gang will just have to locate the mystery van without me." Damon quickly replied as he headed for the front door.

He loved his brother he did, but it was getting a little monotonous coming in second place to him time and time again.

Stefan could sense something was off with his brother since when does Damon actually have something to do? Unless it is a stupid self-destructive plan that would possibly get him killed. Whatever it was he knew he had to get to the bottom of it. So Stefan moved swiftly to impede his brother's access to the door.

"I thought you were all for putting Klaus down permanently. So what gives for this sudden feign of indifference?" Stefan asked as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Brother I thought you knew me well enough to know that I never truly care about anything. I only pretend to care just to show the ladies my soft side," Damon replied giving his little brother his trademarked smirk, "Now if you will excuse me, I do I have barstool at the Grille that is desperate to be reacquainted with my ass."

Damon tried to walk past Stefan, but the younger vampire would not move. Instead he pushed his older brother back to his former position in front of him.

"Damon, I don't buy your nonchalant act for one minute. Tell me what's really going on. Is this about Klaus or something else?"

"How about you call the little emo Gilbert if you are feeling the need to have a heart to heart"

"Is this about Elena choosing me?"

Even though both brothers knew the truth, it is still difficult to hear it spoken out loud.

"How perceptive little bro, now if you will excuse me" He once again tries to leave and once again his brother hinders his movement.

"Damon."

"Stefan, we had a deal. Whoever she didn't choose would pack up and leave. So be happy that for once I'm doing the right thing. "

"I know what we said, but that doesn't mean you have to go. I want you to stay and I know Elena wants you to stay."

"Well right now all I want is to go drink 5 to 8 shots of any hard liquor and to hit on hot underage girls. We all grieve in our own way, just let me have mine."

Stefan mulled over his brother's request for a moment before finally relenting and moving out of his path.

"Fine, go drink, but when you come home tonight, we will continue this talk even if I have to tie you up."

"Jokes on you baby bro, I like it rough," Damon jokes before finally walking out of the house.

Bonnie checks her cell for what seems like the 100th time since she's been here. Her dad was supposed to meet her at the Grille an hour ago. Yet he hasn't called or texted to tell her he will be late, so she just continues to wait like always. She twirls a loose thread from her cardigan as she scans the room, looking for familiar faces. Matt isn't working tonight and neither is Jeremy, but Damon is hanging drunkenly at his favorite position in front of the bar. She rolls her eyes at the sight.

Bonnie watches two seemingly dim-witted women flaunt themselves in front of the vampire. How is it that someone as deplorable as Damon has people fighting to keep him company, while she is constantly alone? Stupid dependable Bonnie, if you need to get out of a sticky situation with a century old vampire she's the best one to call. Most likely she won't be busy, but in the off chance that she is she'll happily drop everything just to come to your rescue. And all she wants in return is for one night to not have to eat dinner alone.

Deciding a pity party at home with some Ben & Jerry's would be better than waiting all night for her dad to show up, she rings him again.

Sadly, but expectedly her dad doesn't answer so she leaves a voicemail.

"Hey Dad, I thought we were meeting for dinner at the Grille tonight… I guess you got held up at work or something… so I'll just see you at home tonight. I love you and be safe."

Bonnie was too busy on the phone to notice Damon had suddenly appeared and was now standing uncomfortably close to her. When she finally does notice the already visibly drunk vampire, she jumps at the closeness and unexpectedness of his appearance, but more so the closeness.

"What do you want Damon. Aren't there any more bimbo types around for you to scheme on," Bonnie asks him as he slides into the booth across from her, taking a large swig from a bottle of his favorite whiskey.

"Well judgey if you must know, I'm playing hard to get with a couple of them right now." As if demonstrating what he means by playing hard to get, Damon smiles at the blonde women at the bar. The women who look to be in their mid to late 30's, begin to giggle like schoolgirls at the dark haired vampire as he pretends to look away, Bonnie rolls her eyes at the exchange and starts to make a move to leave.

"Okay well I've have had enough of this episode of the bachelor I think I'll leave while you hand out your roses, if you don't mind."

"Go right ahead judgey, it's kind of pathetic for you to be sitting alone in a restaurant anyway."

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was meeting someone, my dad, he just had to work late."

"You know Bonnie; I'm actually starting to wonder if your "Dad" even exists at all. I mean I've been in town for over four years and I've met just about every resident except for your dear old dad."

"Of course my father is real Damon don't be ridiculous." Bonnie scoffs at his remarks and slides out of the booth. She turns to leave, but before she can make a move Damon is right in front of her. For the second time today his nearness has thrown her off guard. She hates being this close to him, because she fears that she might finally admit to herself that even for a narcissist selfish asshole, Damon is an extremely attractive narcissist selfish asshole.

"Bonnie maybe all of your problems with guys stem from the fact that you don't have a dad. I mean I've known plenty of girls with daddy issues and the best way to get rid of them, is to just spank it out of them" Damon is so close now that she can smell the alcohol on his breath. She even ignores the crudeness of his words as she concentrates on the coolness radiating off of his skin .Most of all and in spite of herself she can't take her eyes off of his magnificent blue ones. She wants to step back, to shift his gaze from directly off of her, but she will stand her ground no matter what. She has to.

"I have a dad and unlike you I don't have issues with the opposite sex. Now, if you would kindly let me by." She wishes he will just let her go without hassle. She can't take much more of this unprecedented contact with her least favorite vampire. She really can't handle the thoughts forming in her head about how his body would feel pressed against hers. How can you find someone so vile yet so attractive?

Damon wants to let her leave, he knows he should, but something is stopping him. He knows he isn't drunk enough to be behaving this way, but something in him has broken and now he wants to break something in someone else. And as luck would have it Bonnie just happened to be sitting in the restaurant alone like always.

He continues to stare at her, bracing him, knowing that as soon as the words leave his mouth, he won't be able to take them back.

"Bonnie, sweet little witchy Bonnie, you do know you'll never be enough right? You'll never be enough to make your dad want to come around, you weren't enough for Jeremy so he had to go and kiss a fucking apparition. And you're definitely not enough for your friends because they only come around when they need something. Face it kid, you just don't cut it,"

Damon finishes his hate filled rant by gulping a mouth full of his whiskey and then enjoying the burning liquid as it slides down his throat. He can tell in the way her emerald eyes glisten that he has succeeded in what he set out to do. He has hurt someone as bad as he is hurting. So what if she didn't deserve it, he did deserve half of the shit he had to swallow, but he sucked it up and dealt, which is what she will do now.

Feeling satisfied with his work, he turns to head back to the bar when Bonnie does something she has never done before, and she grabs his hand. Her warmth catches him off guard and sobers him quickly. He notices that even though her eyes are drenched in the truth of his words the rest of her looks steeled for battle.

Bonnie knows that Damon's words were truthful; in fact they might be the most truthful words anyone has ever spoken to her. Still he doesn't get to walk around and just hurt her for the hell of it. No, not tonight and not any night for that matter, tonight she will stand up and give him a taste of his own medicine. Even though she is prepared for this war of the words, she surprises herself by grabbing his hand and forcing him to stay. She hates the way her hand fits in his. She hates the way the coolness of his fingers mixes nicely against the warmness of hers. Most of all she hates that she is going to sink to his level. She has the power to burst every blood vessel in his brain, but physical pain would be too easy of a punishment. No, she will open a sore wound and delight in pouring copious amounts of salt onto it as she watches it fester. She wasn't usually like this, she didn't usually feel like this, but tonight something was different.

"Damon aka the broken toy nobody wants. Sure I might not be good enough, but did you ever stop to think for a second that neither were you. I mean who really ever loved you because they actually cared for you? Your own brother realized what an asshole you were and stopped speaking to you for decades and the only friends that you have are the ones that you compel. Elena doesn't love, Katherine never loved you, but you know who they both loved? Stefan, the good brother; the one everyone cares for. You're right, I'm probably not good enough, but at least I can say people actually love me for me. No one's ever really loved you that didn't want to change you. Elena might tell you she cares about you and that it was tough for her to pick Stefan, but it wasn't. I think it probably was easier then deciding whether she wanted white or wheat bread on her sub. That's how insignificant you are. Now do us all a favor and go climb back into that bottle and stay there until you drown!"

When Bonnie finished her tirade her chest heaved rhythmically up and down as she let the weight of her words crash upon her. Had she really been so cruel? Even someone is evil as Damon didn't deserve to be told no one loves them. But it was too late and Damon looked too mad, he looked furious in fact. She watched as his own chest heaved up and down with anger.

Damon slammed his bottle down on the table and pulled the young witch out of the restaurant.

Bonnie hadn't noticed until Damon was forcing her through the doors of the Grille, that they even were still holding hands; the fact that it felt so comfortable, so natural that she didn't even notice it unnerved her.

Damon hadn't even paid for his drink or drinks for that matter. All he knew was he was angry. Angry at Elena, at Stefan, at Katherine, even at himself, but the one person he couldn't make himself be angry at was following him into a dark alley.

They had traded blows, he had hurt her and she had hurt him. They had left one another in a terrible state. She told him his unspoken truth and he told her hers. They hated one another. Well, to be honest he didn't really hate her. He found her to be mostly annoying unless he need something, then I guess he would consider her useful. Most of the time he didn't consider her anything, Bonnie Bennett rarely crossed his mind unless he needed her. Tonight he needed her.

Bonnie is smart, she knows who Damon is, what Damon is. So why was she willingly going into a dark alley with this homicidal maniac? Maybe it was because even though she knew he had happily killed many times in the past, he wouldn't hurt her at least not physically.

When they had finally walked far enough down the alley so that they were hidden from the hustle and bustle of the town's main street, Damon pushed Bonnie against the wall.

She wasn't sure what was happening or why she couldn't bring herself to stop it.

Damon pressed himself against Bonnie; he heard a moan escape his lips as he felt her curves sweetly greet his hard body. He slowly placed his hands on either side of her head so that she would not be able to escape. She would not be able to run from him unless he allowed it, and he wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon.

Damon trapped her between his hands, but she didn't feel trapped. They just stood in the alley for what seemed like hours, eyes searching one another's and lungs searching for air. Finally after moments of silence Damon spoke in a soft whisper.

"If I'm so broken why did you come out here with me?"

"My grams always stressed the importance of charity."

"You feel sorry for me?"

"I don't feel anything for you"

"You know that if we stand here any longer making gooey eyes at one another, Stefan might send out the bat signal for you."

"I thought I wasn't important enough for anyone to notice my absence?"

"I didn't say you weren't important. You are important; someone has to make the snacks for Scooby."

"And who is Scooby in this scenario?"

"Lockwood of course, he's the only one that sheds"

"Damon, you know what, you're right I should go. Stefan and Elena are expecting me."

"The first time you tell me I'm right about something, is the only time I'm wrong about something."

No one speaks after Damon finishes his sentence, they just continue to stare.

Damon leans in slowly. He can feel the witch shaking beneath him. He knows that she is unsure, but her uncertainty won't stop him. He presses his lips down to hers and he engulfs her. Every horrible word and every horrible thought shared between the two unravels in their kiss.

Bonnie although initially hesitant opens her mouth wider to allow Damon's tongue further access. She grabs portions of his silkily black hair and uses it to pull him closer to her.

For the first time in a long time, Bonnie's brain shuts off. She doesn't think about how much she hates Damon for everything awful thing he has done since he got to town. She doesn't think about how ashamed she would be if anyone found out about their secret alleyway kiss. The only think she can do is feel; feel the way his body fits against hers. Feel the way his tongue moves against hers, the way his smooth cold lips softly suck on her bottom one.

Damon doesn't think it's fair that he is forced to keep his hands planted on the wall so that she can't leave. He doesn't think it's fair that she can pull his hair, but that he can play with her brown tresses. Most of all he doesn't think it's fair that his hands can't travel the length of her body. It's not fair. He takes out his disdain for the unfair treatment he is receiving by diving deeper into the kiss. He moves more hurriedly as he realizes that her lips won't be enough to quench his growing thirst for her. He wants her face, her hands, her neck, her marvelous caramel neck. He just wants more. Maybe it's because he knows he has to leave tomorrow or maybe it's because she was the first person to tell him what he knows everyone else has been thinking whatever the reason he just knows he wants more of Bonnie Bennett and he wants it now. Even though it pains him for some odd reason to do so, he pulls away. But not before planting tiny kisses around the corners of her mouth.

Bonnie is not ready for the kiss to be over. She is not ready to go back to hating Damon. She just wants indulge in their secret dark alley way kiss, but of course he had to ruin it. He is Damon after all.

"Let's go back to your place… now." Damon says as he hovers over her breathlessly.

"For tea?" Bonnie questions as she recovers from their kiss.

"No judgey. So we can finish this."

"You successfully finished this, whatever this was, when you pulled away," Bonnie voice betrays her by sounding a bit more disappointed than she would like.

"I pulled away because I thought you would be apprehensive about having sex in an alleyway, but when in Rome" Damon replies matter-of-factly, topping it off with his trademarked smirk.

Now that she has caught her breath the weight of what she did crashes down on her. Why was she, of all people, kissing Damon Salvatore in a dark alley? She is the de facto leader of the Damon hate club. She has beautiful and peaceful reoccurring dreams about setting his brain on fire. She knows all of the deplorable things he has done, but none of that stopped her from enjoying the kiss and none of that would stop her if he tries to kiss her again. Damn it Bennett pull yourself together. It's Damon, no one except bimbos and skanks would willingly kiss Damon. So why did she and why does_ he_ think one innocent kiss, okay, not so innocent kiss would lead to sex. She once again has to remind herself that it is Damon she's dealing with, the self-proclaimed sex god. Of course he would think kissing someone who hates the very ground you walk on would lead to sex.

"Sorry buddy. Wrong girl, wrong time, wrong place, and wrong guy, just wrong everything."

She slides from underneath his arms and starts heads out of the alleyway towards her car. Fearful that he might use is unnatural super speed to beat her to her car, she checks to make sure he is where she left him and surprisingly he still is.

Damon still has his hands pressed against the wall. He had never been with girl that wasn't grateful for the chance to try out his bedroom skills. And what does she mean "wrong girl" and "wrong guy"? Since when has any girl I've ever been with not been the wrong girl and when have I ever not been the wrong guy? Of course judgey would have no follow-through, she seems like the MVP of the hot and cold game. Maybe he would be the one that could heat her up? Damon contemplated the challenge as he finally released the wall and turned to see Bonnie running across the street.

Excited at the idea Damon might actually let her leave without snarky comeback Bonnie hurries towards her car. Caught in the excitement and in a rush to get to her car she forgets to look both ways before crossing the street.

The only thing she hears before passing out is a cacophony of horns and sirens. She thinks she hears Damon threatening someone, but she is too tired to care or to feel sorry for the poor sap. Instead she decides to drift off and hopefully dream about the kiss she just shared with the vampire she despises.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me, and no right infringement is intended.**

**Dark Paradise**

_And there's no remedy for memory your face is_

_Like a melody, it won't leave my head_

_Your soul is haunting me and telling me_

_That everything is fine_

_But I wish I was dead_

* * *

He sits. He thinks. Her face is etched on his brain. Every time he closes his eyes her olive skin is the only thing that takes form. No kiss, not even one as good as his and Bonnie's, could change the fact that he wanted Elena and she didn't want him.

The room is quiet and dark when Bonnie finally wakes up. Her mind is racing, where is she? How did she get here? More importantly why does she feel like she's been run over by a truck?

Her throat is dry and her body aches, but still she struggles to sit up in her bed, hoping to gain some semblance of where she is.

Damon was so consumed with his thoughts that he didn't notice the wounded witch trying to sit up, until he heard a pained groan. In an instant Damon was by her side. He sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at her quietly.

"Damon?" she questioned hoarsely. The vampire held his finger to her lips to silence her; ignoring their supple nature, he quickly went over to pour her a cup of water.

Even though she was unsure why Damon of all people was with her wherever she was, she did as she was told and finished all of her water before making another attempt to speak.

"Damon, where am I?"

"For a witch, you're not really perceptive are you?"

If anyone would have asked him, he would have vehemently denied being worried about Bonnie. Of course he didn't decide right away that if she took a turn for the worse he would supply her with his blood. No, he didn't plan on going to find the idiot that hit her with his car and beat him within an inch of his life and then drain him dry. None of these things were in his character so why had they all entered his mind?

"Damon!" Bonnie says taking his attention away from his thoughts and onto her.

"Calm down judgey, I think that while your grams was teaching you about the importance of charity she forgot to teach you that you should always look both ways before crossing the road," the vampire smirks.

Damon's references were lost on Bonnie, who still looked at him waiting for a straight answer.

"Fine, in layman's terms; you got bumped by a truck while trying to walk to your car. I swooped in and saved the day, now I'm the town hero or something. Probably will have a statue erected in my honor…" the vampire pauses to laugh, "I said erected…," Bonnie continues to stare at him stone-faced, "God you really have no sense of humor judgey. Any who, so now you're in the hospital all concussed and what not and Elena and the others are outside speaking with your doctor, is that overview good enough for you?" Damon finishes his account of the events and returns to his position on the couch.

Bonnie however, still looks puzzled about something. Damon frowns at the look on her face and sighs, "What is it now? Your pillow needs fluffing? Do you want some jello? How about a sponge bath?"

"Eww don't be gross. I, however, would like know why you were the one that saved me and more importantly why are _my_ friends out there but _you're_ in here?"

"Well here's the thing, and don't get your panties in a twist when I say this, but I was the one that saved you, a Good Samaritan act on my part by the way; Anyways I was the one that saved you because you were _technically_ running away from me when the accident happened."

Bonnie stares at him blankly as if not comprehending his statements.

Damon initially leaves out the part about the kiss because he knows Bonnie won't take the news well and also because he didn't want Saint Stefan or Vampire Barbie to overhear the conversation. He already lost Elena romantically and the thought of permanently losing her friendship was enough to make him want to prematurely turn off his humanity just to avoid the pain.

"Why would I be running…" before she can even get the words out, her mind is flooded with flashes from the night before the accident. Nothing is crystal clear, but she is able to discern that she and Damon had shared a very long and very passionate kiss.

Her mouth opens agape when her uncharacteristic behavior dawns on her.

Damon, who had been pretending to read the newspaper to hide from the girl's questions, stopped his ruse when he saw Bonnie in the midst of a revelation about their alleyway kiss. He smiles at her, but also at the memory of the kiss and how at the time he had wished it would have gone on forever. Now he wishes, he doesn't know what he wishes, but he does hope that Elena never finds out about it.

"_Damon_, in your little narrative you forget to tell me that we kissed!"

"Oops," Damon simply replies.

Bonnie doesn't know what is more infuriating, the vampire himself or his ability to manipulate the truth. She decides both and that he needs to be punished for such.

Damon was still amused at the sight of Bonnie huffing and puffing with anger. He knew she was mad, but he didn't know how mad until his brain felt afire. The vampire dropped the newspaper from his hands and immediately crashed onto the linoleum floor. Nothing could ease this pain, all he could do was to cradle his skull in his hands and even that offered little comfort.

"Why did we kiss Damon?" Bonnie asked

"How should I know, you were the one that kissed me," Damon said through clenched teeth.

"Liar"

Bonnie knew that Damon didn't tell the truth easily, so she would have to force it out of him. She began to increase the speed in which his blood vessels popped. Maybe that would be enough to teach him. Teach him what exactly? She didn't know, but she did know that no one could find out about their kiss. Damon was a boaster and she was certain that as soon as he had the chance he would tell everyone. Even her best friend, who despite her best intentions found herself drawn to the vampire.

"Okay. Fine you win. Just stop with the witchy juju."

Bonnie stopped Damon's punishment just in time for Elena, Matt, Stefan, Jeremy, and Caroline to walk into the room.

Damon knew that being on the floor of Bonnie's room couldn't look good so he played it off as best as he could.

"Found it!" he announced as he scrambled to get up from the floor.

"I told you that the paper was under the couch," Bonnie said as she attempted to play along.

She knows that her friends must think that the situation they walked in on was pretty weird, but no one says anything. They all just crowd around her bed, ignoring Damon and their previously acted out scene.

"Oh my God Bonnie I was so worried about you," Elena says as she reaches her arms out to embrace her best friend. Even though she is too sore to move, Bonnie hugs her back.

"We all were," Caroline says.

"Damon told me, you guys were out there with the doctor, what did he say?"

"Well, he said that the truck only grazed you so you were lucky to get out of the way when you did…" Stefan pauses to look at his brother who is once again using the newspaper to divert attention, "nevertheless he did say that you have a concussion so they want to keep you overnight, but if all looks well in the morning you should be able to go home."

Jeremy picks up where Stefan left off, "Your wrist is sprained, so they had to put the cast on but he said it should heal up in about 2 to 4 weeks."

"Did he say anything about all of the soreness?"

"Yea, he wants you to take it easy for a couple of days," Matt answers her.

"Umm did you guys call my dad?" Bonnie asks even though she already knows the answer.

Damon even puts the paper down so that he can see Bonnie's face when she hears the response to her question.

"We tried, but one of his coworkers said he had to take an emergency business trip out of town, sorry Bon," Caroline tries to comfort her friend by placing a hand on her shoulder.

It doesn't work, but Bonnie acts as though it does, by greeting the contact with a smile. She knows her dad is a busy man, she just wished that sometimes he could take a day off from being busy and just be her dad. She swallows her disappointment.

Damon sees her disappointment. The others might ignore, but he notices it and he preserves it in his memory bank. In spite of himself he feels sorry for the witch. He knows all too well, what it's like to have a dad that you admire so much, but who could care less about you.

"Damon could I speak with you outside for a moment," Stefan suddenly says disturbing the silence that had fallen in the room.

The vampire puts down his prop newspaper and replies, "Certainly brother."

The brothers leave the room with the older followed by the younger. They walk a little ways down the hall just to make sure Caroline won't be able to overhear their conversation.

"So is there something you want to tell me?" Stefan begins as he leans against the wall.

"Nope," Damon replies as he follows his brother's lead and leans against the wall opposite his.

"Nothing? Like maybe why you were with Bonnie when she had the accident or maybe why you were the one to bring her to the hospital."

"Stefan I don't know how to tell you this,but I'm batman."

"Be serious for once Damon. Is this how you get back at Elena for picking me? Huh? By playing whatever game it is that you're playing with Bonnie?"

"No, brother unlike you my every action doesn't revolve around Elena." _Just my every thought._

"What's really going on Damon?"

"Nothing. I was just on my way home from the Grille and I saw judgey recklessly ignoring the rules of safety and I simply stepped in to make sure she didn't get turned into witchy stew," Damon says a little too innocently.

Stefan contemplates his brother's words and his behavior. Damon can't be trusted at all, but he did look genuinely concerned when the doctors were examining Bonnie. He decides it's best to let it ride for the time being, especially if he hopes to convince his brother to stay.

"Fine. I believe you."

"Are we done here or are you still going to send me to the principal's office?" Damon says jokingly.

"Not quite. Are you still planning on leaving?"

"What is this obsessive need of yours to constantly know my comings and goings? Starting to sound like a jealous lover, and it's getting a little weird."

"I only asked, because like I said earlier I want you to stay in town. Elena wants you to stay in town. We're brothers…you're the only family I have."

"This is a strange change of pace, because not two seconds ago you were ready to wring my neck when you thought I was up to no good with Bonnie."

"Damon, I was just trying to protect her."

"From me? How very brotherly of you."

Damon gets up from the wall and walks back towards Bonnie's room. How can Stefan call him family in one breath and dangerous in the next? I guess he was dangerous to some people, namely hot blondes and dicks who parked to close to his car, but still he didn't plan on hurting Bonnie. If anyone was in danger it was him. Obviously she had some unresolved issues about their kiss and he was certain she was planning on taking out her regret on his brain.

"Bonnie are you sure you don't want to come stay with us?" Elena asks her for the 6th time in five minutes.

"Yes. I'm sure. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself," she replies hopefully for the last time.

Damon walks in the room and as usual nobody pays attention to his entrance, nobody except Bonnie who follows him with her eyes, ignoring whatever Caroline started to say when he walked in.

"Hello, earth to Bonnie," Caroline says calling back her attention to her _actual_ friends and not the homicidal vampire she mistakenly kissed.

"What's that Care?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to stay with me. I know my mom would be totally fine with it I would even crash on the couch, you could have my bed."

"Caroline, Elena, I really appreciate you guys wanting to help me out, but I have a concussion and a sprained wrist, I'm not an invalid. So contrary to popular belief I can manage."

"Well then maybe one of us should come and stay with you Bon," Matt says as Stefan also reenters the room.

"That's not necessary you guys."

"Nonsense," Damon says as he joins the vigil around her bed, "Bonnie you could barely take care of yourself when you had two working hands. How are you going to do it with one in a cast and the other covered in cuts and scrapes?"

"Wow Damon, I didn't know you cared," Bonnie replies. She knows Damon is up to something only she is afraid to find out exactly what it is.

"Neither did I," Stefan says joining in the conversation as everyone else eyes the three of them curiously.

"Of course I care. In fact, I care so much that I am here by offering my services to be your live-in nurse," Damon's proposal is attached to a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh wow Damon, what I generous offer, but unfortunately I'm going to have to decline," Bonnie quickly replies

"And unfortunately for you I won't take no for an answer."

" Damon, I don't think Bonnie will be requiring your services. We'll all just take shifts," Stefan adds in.

"I definitely like Stefan's idea better, " Caroline chimes in.

"Yea, I agree with Stefan. Let's do that," Bonnie says

"Nope sorry. You guys have work and school and Klaus. Jeremy needs to go to Hot Topic and buy some black nail polish; Barbie needs to go get highlights, Stefan needs to go get more hair gel, all of these important things _need_ to get done. I, on the other hand only have my daily appointments with Jack on my schedule, and lucky for me he comes in a bottle that is easy to travel with. So let me ease the load and do my part for once," Damon says almost sincerely.

No one said anything. Bonnie was afraid that if she continued to object Damon might mention their kiss as the cause for her objection. But she was also afraid that if she didn't object she would be stuck in a house with Damon Salvatore for 2-4 weeks.

After a while of no one talking, Elena finally spoke up, "So I guess that settles it, Damon will live with Bonnie until she gets back on her feet."

Bonnie wants to hide underneath the covers, but she won't. She wants to scream, but she doesn't. She just accepts that for the time being, she will have more contact with Damon than she would like. It will be just another bitter pill she has to swallow. She doesn't even know why the vampire would offer to help her. He hates her…doesn't he? Then it dawns on her, he is doing this for Elena. Everything he does is for Elena. Hell, everything we all do is for Elena. She's doesn't mean to sound like the jealous best friend, but sometimes she just wishes that Elena could share the spotlight with her. Still in the back of her mind she worries that her and Damon will have another confrontation like before, and this time she knows a simple kiss won't heal her wounds or bandage her injuries. She's afraid it will take more, much more.

Damon knows he's only doing this to get one last rise out of Stefan, before he leaves town for good. He also knows that part of the reason he's doing this is because somewhere deep inside of him he hopes that if he can show Elena he cares about the things and people she cares about then maybe she will change her mind and pick him. Most of all he knows, even though he won't admit it to himself, that being with Bonnie is the only time that losing Elena doesn't hurt as bad. Yes, he still thinks about her, he knows he will always think about her, but Bonnie for whatever reason is his Band-Aid.

"Great, so what time should I come get you in the morning?" Damon says with a smile.

* * *

"You know for this to work you have to actually invite me in," the vampire says as he drops his duffle bag to the porch.

He knew this would be the difficult part for the witch. He even went out of his way to help ease her into. He stopped to get her a breakfast burrito and an iced coffee before picking her up from the hospital, of course he got himself a little of the brunette waitress who served him these items. She'll never remember it though, and most likely neither will he.

Bonnie stared at the dark haired vampire on the porch. She didn't want to invite him in, because she knew that meant he would have access to her anytime he wanted. And giving Damon a whole lot of anything was asking for a whole lot of trouble.

"Judgey either you let me in, or I'll go door to door and turn this whole neighborhood into my personal all you can eat buffet."

"You wouldn't" Bonnie dares.

"Believe me, I would," Damon says as he takes off his _Ray Bans _and put them in his jacket pocket. He wanted the witch to have to look him dead in the eyes when she finally acquiesced to his demands.

They stared at one another for some time, each testing the other. Finally Bonnie relented deciding the whole neighborhood shouldn't have to die because Damon didn't have anything better to do on a Tuesday morning.

"Fine. Damon, come in," she says harshly

"I don't know. I think you can ask a little nicer than that judgey," Damon teases

Bonnie sighed heavily. What more could he want? She was already allowing him to enter her home, now she had to dress the invitation up?

"Damon, would you please do me the honor of entering my house?" she said dully

"I'm still a little iffy on the invite, so how about once more with feeling."

Bonnie had had enough. She was tired, irritated, and in dire need of her bed, so she snapped.

"Damon, how about this, enter the freakin house before I make your brain vessels my own squeeze toy, and pop each one over and over until…" Bonnie couldn't finish her sentence before Damon picked up his bag and walked through the doorway.

"Calm down, I was only joking."

"Ha ha ha," she laughs drily

"So where's my room," Damon says looking around the living room.

Bonnie points to the couch.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You're the one that offered your unwanted services; it's not too late to change your mind."

Damon thought about it, he really did. Why would he give up his California King and 800 thread count sheets all just to sleep on Bonnie Bennett's couch? Well there was always the chance that Elena would see his good deed as a sign that she made the wrong choice. Or he could just hang out here until he decides what his next move would be, it bets having Stefan brooding in his face all day. Plus there was the added bonus of irritating Stefan and little Gilbert with his job as Bonnie's nurse.

"Not getting rid of me that easily witchy."

"One could hope."

"There is absolutely nothing more that I want to do than curl up on your couch and watch bad reality television," Damon says as he jumps onto the sofa.

"You could go home and watch bad reality television."

"And leave you here all alone with your sprained wrist? Now what kind of gentleman would that make me?"

"I think you would have to be a gentleman first."

"I was a very_ gentle_ man when you kissed me in the alley. Get it? Gentle man?"

"I thought we agreed to never talk about that again? And you were the one that kissed me"

"I never agreed to anything. So where's the liquor cabinet?," Damon says once again looking around the room.

" Hello, I'm 17, not old enough to drink."

"I know, but does your imaginary dad have anything to drink besides invisible water."

"Yea, I'm going to go lay down now. Goodbye."

"Would you like some company? I can really show you how gentle I can be."

"Damon stop you're making me nauseated."

"You're no fun."

Bonnie walks up stairs to her room, smiling at the interaction she just had with the vampire.

Damon tries his best to be a good boy, he really does. He knows Bonnie is human and probably weak and tired from her accident, but he's bored and that takes priority.

As soon as Bonnie walked into her room she slipped off her boots and dove under her duvet. She was only away one night, but she missed her bed so much. She was extremely tired so sleep was easy to find. Only 10 minutes after she walked up the stairs, she was already fast asleep.

No longer willing or able to fight his boredom with reruns of the Kardashians, Damon decides to explore, and what better place to start than Bonnie's room. In the blink of an eye, he is already upstairs and outside of her door. He slowly pushes the door open to find the witch fast asleep. One thing about Damon as that he is a proud multi-tasker, so when the opportunity, to irritate his little brother and cuddle next to a warm body, presented itself what was he supposed to do? Even if that warm body did happen to belong to a sleeping witch that hated his guts. She owed him. He was tired from staying at the hospital so late and waking up so early this morning to pick her up. Also, he gave up his life to take care of the girl the least she could do was cuddle with him. Not that he was a huge fan of cuddling, or Bonnie but he knew that that was probably all he could expect, and right now he was taking what he could get. It was more than Elena was offering.

The vampire silently walked into the room, stopping when he neared the bed of the sleeping girl. He gingerly moved the covers aside enough so that he could get in. Once in the bed he carefully placed his arms around the waist of the witch. He moved closer until their bodies almost formed a single line. He ignored the pull in his pants as his lower body met hers, and rested his face in her chocolate hair and inhaled.

* * *

**Hey, guys I know this chapter was a little long, but I was inspired after watching the Bamon scene tonight. Thanks for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites. I didn't really plan on continuing the story, but you guys made me want to write this chapter. So thanks for the inspiration and please continue to review and follow. Also if you have any fanfic you want me to read & review I would be honored to do so! Once again I'm sorry about any grammatical or punctuation errors, please don't let it deter you from reading the story. I hope to have another chapter for you next week so we can see how Bonnie reacts to waking up in bed with Damon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I do not own these characters, I am just a fan.**

**Uninvited**

_Like any uncharted territory_

_I must seem greatly intriguing_

_You speak of my love like_

_You have experienced love like mine before_

_But this is not allowed_

_You're uninvited_

_An unfortunate slight_

Bonnie stirs in her bed. She wishes she could continue her slumber and receive her much needed rest, but her empty stomach growls in disapproval. She yawns as she quietly promises that as soon as she scarfs down any quick meal she can find, she will return to the sanctuary of her room and her purple duvet. Bonnie begins to stretch, readying herself for any problems that await her in the waking world. While elongating her arms during the process she bumps into something that feels oddly like a face.

"Ouch," she hears from behind her, causing her eyes to immediately flicker open. Bonnie throws herself onto her hard wood floor in a quickly mounted effort to escape the person who had slipped uninvited into her bed. However in doing so, she'd forgotten that the doctor told her to take it easy for a reason, a thought that reentered her mind as soon as the now familiar soreness revisited her body.

Bonnie ignored her pain as she struggled to her knees so that she could get a better look at her would be assailant.

"Damon!" she yells out harshly when she spies the sleeping vampire.

She stares at him seething with anger. Why hadn't she locked her door or did some other preemptive measure to keep the vampire honorable?

"Are you just going to continue creepily staring at me with your witchy eyes, or are you going to get back in bed," Damon says lazily

Bonnie stares at him in disbelief. His dark black hair softly rested upon her purple pillowcase, his white milky skin displaying a nice contrast with the hue of her bed covers. The witch was furious at Damon for inviting himself into her room, but she was also bitter that he could even manage to look gorgeous while draped in her adolescent-themed linen.

Damon heard Bonnie rise from the bed and fall to the floor, he felt her warmth move further across the room, and he knew she was watching him, but he honestly didn't care. He had cared too much about to many things for too long until he was finally left without a care. He'd cared about protecting Elena, about protecting the people and the things she loved, he cared about saving Alaric, hell, he even cared about Stefan's feelings, but right now he just couldn't give a damn. He was numb, not because he had turned his humanity off, but because he'd given all of himself and he'd suffered defeat time and time again. He didn't think about how Bonnie might feel about him being in her bed or how Elena might feel or even how much Stefan would brood over it. He was hurt, numb and hurt. And right now all he wanted was not to hurt, not to feel Elena in every breath, not to dream of her skin, or think of her voice. He wanted to be okay, and for some fucked up reason, the universe decided to give Bonnie Bennett the power to grant his wish, at least temporarily.

"No, Damon I am not getting back in bed with you, because you shouldn't be in my bed in the first place. And furthermore the only creepy thing about this situation is you!" Bonnie fumes through gritted teeth and she rises from the floor. She was upset with herself for actually admiring the sleeping vampire; she hoped that calling him a few names would help alleviate her anger.

Damon realized that Bonnie's stint as the pacifier for his pain was over, at least for the time being so he decided to pester the witch instead.

In seconds he had moved from his position on the bed to standing right in front of Bonnie, softly pushing her against the wall. Instead of using both arms to trap the witch, Damon presses one hand against wall close enough so it's near Bonnie's head and he leans in.

"What's so creepy about me, huh judgey," Damon asks in a low growl.

Damn, Bonnie thought. Deja vu much, because this felt a whole lot like their alley way kiss, only this time there was a bed mere inches away from them and hadn't Damon expected their interaction to end in between her sheets the last time they were this close?

"You're…you … you are like 200 years old and you're scheming on a high school girl, pretty creepy situation, and a little lame if you ask me" Bonnie says as Damon's proximity begins to affect her ability to think clearly. Maybe it was his glacial eyes or his blissful aroma or his milky skin, whatever it was, Bonnie wished badly that it would stop having this effect on her. It was Damon and she was Bonnie. Nature made them enemies and the vampire's behavior made them bitter enemies. This was not allowed. Bonnie could _not_ be having these thoughts and admiring these things about this bloodthirsty homicidal maniac.

"I wasn't _scheming _on you. I was nursing you back to health duh."

"So they're teaching snuggling in medical school now?"

"I wasn't snuggling. Men don't snuggle. I was like…it was like cradling."

"Oh so do you have much experience cradling with men?"

"Witchy made a joke. Look at that," Damon smiles

"Damon, move out of the way. I'm ravenous," Bonnie says not returning the smile

"Uh hello why do you think I'm here?"

"I'm not really in the mood for a sex joke."

"God, Bonnie please get your mind out of the gutter. I meant I'm your nurse the least I can do is cook you a meal. Plus, Barbie texted while you were asleep saying that her and Elena would be coming over later so I can't have you telling them I don't feed you, don't want to be relieved of my nursing duties now do I?"

Before Bonnie could reply Damon left the room and headed for the kitchen, so the witch had no choice but to follow behind.

He hadn't prepared a meal since… well when he was human he always had someone to cook for him and then as a vampire he had no need for food, only blood and bourbon. But how hard could it be?

Bonnie eyed the vampire who looked odd in such unfamiliar territory. She sat down at the breakfast bar and got ready to enjoy the show. Watching big bad- I'll rip your heart out- Damon Salvatore trying to make heads and tails of a dishwasher was pretty much the most hilarious thing she's seen in a while. So much so that she openly burst into a fit of laughter.

"Is something funny?" Damon asks as he finally decides to make the witch a simple omelet.

"Why were you playing with the dishwasher?" Bonnie questions while trying to hold in her laughter.

"I thought it was the stove." Damon says simply.

"I can cook for myself Damon; I mean do you even know how to cook?"

"It's not about knowing how to cook as much as it is about looking good while doing it." He informs

"Move over. You're not going to burn down my house while trying to pose over a plate of eggs." Bonnie gets up from the bar stool and walks over to where Damon is standing with the egg carton.

"Is this your way of telling me that you have naked firefighter fantasies about me?" He smirks

Bonnie rolls her eyes at the vampire and heads to the cabinet to find a frying pan. She places the pan on the stove and pours a smidgen of vegetable oil into it. Damon walks over to her with the carton of eggs in hand. She grabs a bowl and the whisk.

"Here" Bonnie said placing the bowl, the whisk, and the eggs on the counter top. She walks over to the fridge for vegetables as Damon stands in the middle of the kitchen looking dumbfounded.

"Whisk," she orders.

Why did he volunteer to do this anyway? Damon wonders to himself.

"You know I don't know how." He admits

"I bet you know countless methods of torture, but you can't whisk an egg? Maybe it's time to reexamine your life choices."

"I thought naps were supposed to make people less crabby, not more?"

"I would probably be less crabby if I hadn't of woken up to a creepy old man in my bed."

Bonnie puts the vegetables that she was carrying onto the cutting board before she goes over to guide Damon to the eggs and the bowl.

"You loved it and you know it. You'll probably have dreams about it tonight," he tells her

"Yea, those kinds of dreams are called nightmares."

She cracks one egg and then pours its contents into the bowl. She gives Damon one to crack. Damon gets the egg and plans on cracking it just as Bonnie showed him, only he uses too much force. The egg does crack, but instead of falling into the bowl and joining Bonnie's, it goes all over his hand.

"Gross." He complains as Bonnie hands him a paper towel for the mess.

"Too rough, you have to be gentler," Bonnie reprimands

"The offer still stands; I would be more than happy to show you exactly how gentle I can be"

"And I would love to show you exactly how many aneurysms I could give you I one minute. But we can't always get what we want."

"Touché"

Damon takes the witch's advice and softly cracks the egg, this time he is able to pour its contents in the bowl as Bonnie hands him the whisk.

He stares at the utensil for some time, before for deciding to dip it into the bowl. Bonnie, who is no longer paying attention to Damon, is busy dicing the tomatoes, when she finally looks up to see him dipping the whisk in and out of the bowl instead of stirring it.

"Not like that!" she says, once again neglecting her duties to come to the aid of the unequipped vampire.

"Maybe I should just stand in the corner and look pretty."

"Nope, you won't get off that easy _nurse _Damon."

When Bonnie reaches him, she grabs the whisk from his hand, accidently brushing it with her own. She ignores the contact and carries on demonstrating the proper use of a whisk.

Damon watches her, but he also concentrates on the warmth he still feels where her skin touched his. Bonnie could ignore it and pretend not to notice it, but he wouldn't.

When she'd finish whisking the eggs, she pours the contents of the bowl into the frying pan and forces Damon to stand there and watch it. Soon she joins him as she adds the diced vegetables into the mix.

When her omelet was done she slid it onto a plate, grabbed a fork and headed for the dining table. Damon stopped in the living room first, but shortly joined Bonnie in the dining room.

The vampire sat in the chair directly opposite the witch and placed a large bottle of whiskey onto the table.

"Isn't it a little early for happy hour?" She asks before she takes a bite from her egg.

"As, I always like to say, its 5 o'clock somewhere in the world right?"

Damon opens the liquid and begins to drink directly from the bottle.

"So do alcoholics."

"Hey I have an idea, judgey let's cool it with all the judging today, huh?"

"Damon obviously you have a problem, you just chose to ignore it."

"Of course I have a problem; she's about 5'2 with an annoyingly self-righteous disposition. I just can't seem to think of what to do with her. I mean I do have a few ideas, I wonder if she's into role play."

"Ladies and Gentlemen he brings out his greatest defense mechanism the art of crudeness."

"Maybe if you get off of your high horse you'd stop thinking of what a say as crude and more like arousing."

"I know that this must be hard concept for you to grasp, but I do not and will not engage in any type of sexual activity with you, ever!"

"You're the one that keeps bring up sex and the way that you kissed me in that alleyway begs to differ."

"It was one kiss Damon."

"People don't usually kiss vampires that they find repulsive."

"I never said you were repulsive, just your actions, your words, and your personality."

"Are you calling me attractive?"

"Glass half-full type of guy, are you?"

"Only for Bourbon. I like my Scotch filled to the brim."

"New rule, no talking about your alcoholism or sexual addiction at the dining table."

"It's not an addiction if you're good at it."

"You're breaking the rules."

"Didn't you break the rules of nature or something by letting me live here?"

"I did and I hope Mother Nature doesn't decide to shun me for it."

"So why did you agree to let me be your nurse anyway if you feared retaliation from Mother Nature?"

"I thought that if I objected too much, you would tell everyone about the kiss."

"A gentleman never kisses and tells"

"Again, where's the gentleman in this scenario."

"Plus, I would never hurt Elena like that."

She knew that everything he did revolved around Elena in some way. None of his actions were completely independent of her and probably would never be. For some reason this realization upset her.

"Oh right I forgot about your obsession with my best friend," she says almost bitterly

"I'm not talking about this with you judgey," Damon says quickly dismissing the topic of conversation.

"It's a little _douchey _for you to be in love with your brother's girlfriend, don't you think."

_Douchey_? Was it _douchey_ for him to be in love with his brother's girl? No, it was definitely abysmal, maybe a little masochistic, and a lot of the times mind-numbingly painful, but douchey, no. What did Bonnie know about his pain? Why did everyone only concentrate on how Stefan must feel about his brother's betrayal or how Elena must feel about being stuck in a love triangle between the two brothers? Nobody ever considered his pain. Nobody ever considered how much he must love Elena to put himself in that situation. What did Bonnie know about his love?

"And it's kind of bitchy for you to be jealous of your so called best friends just because they can actually find guys that are attracted to them enough to be in a relationship."

Bonnie didn't like where this was going and neither did Damon, but they knew they wouldn't stop until they were both cut open and bleeding.

"I'm not jealous of them," Bonnie says slamming down her fork. She stands up and uses her hands to lean forward on the table.

"Of course you are sweetie. You see how Tyler looks at Barbie, how Stefan and I look at Elena. How we would both happily give our lives to save hers, and you wished someone would care about you that much, but they won't because you're a frigid judgmental bitch," the vampire spits out the last word.

She'd never been called a bitch before and she knew that she wasn't one, but she couldn't whole-heartedly say that at least a part of her wasn't jealous. Jeremy was her first real boyfriend and he'd cheated on her with a ghost. She'd seen the movies and heard the songs, she knew that real love was fire, passion, and heartache and with Jeremy she only got the latter of the three. Still Damon had no right to continuous call her on things she didn't even want to admit to herself. She hated that he knew her so well that he could point out her unspoken truths. Why did he get to cut her open and leave her reeling from the pain?

Damon stands up to walk towards the living room with his Whiskey bottle in hand. Bonnie breaks into an almost jog to race around the table in time to stop his movement. She finally reaches him as he is walking through the French doors. She grabs his shoulder and forcibly turns him around, pushing him onto the doors. The witch and the vampire stand right in front of one other, so close, but not touching. His eyes search hers, hers search his.

"You don't get to leave. You don't get to talk to me like that and just leave," Bonnie says with tears beginning to form around the corners of her eyes.

Damon doesn't regret his words, but he does regret the visible hurt he sees on her face. He hurts Bonnie and Bonnie hurts him. It's what they do. It's the only way they know how to interact. She constantly wears a shield to hide her hurt, so much so that Damon and everyone else forget it's there. They forget that this powerful witch and strong women is just a vulnerable teenage girl inside who only wants someone to tell her she's good enough to be loved. It's after this realization that he truly sees how alike he and Bonnie really are.

"Bonnie…I" Damon is cut off by the doorbell, but his eyes never leave hers.

"Finish what you were going to say," Bonnie demands dismissing the bell.

"I…" Damon's sentence is once again stopped by the doorbell.

"What?!" They both scream at the same time.

"Bon, its Caroline and Elena. Didn't Damon tell you that we were coming over?" she hears through the door.

Bonnie and Damon stop their staring match and the witch composes herself before walking over to open the front door. She lets Caroline and Elena into the house while Damon heads to the living room for his jacket.

"Hey, what was all the yelling about?" Caroline says as she greets her friend with a hug.

"Nothing. Just Damon being Damon," she quietly replies.

"Trouble in paradise?" Caroline asks

"Care!" Elena implores

But, Bonnie just shrugs off of the question.

Damon appears with his car keys in hand.

"Hey Damon we got some movies and some take out, you're welcome to join us if you want," Elena says, ignoring both Bonnie and Caroline who grunt at her invitation.

"No thanks. There's an empty glass and a few blondes with low self-esteem, waiting at the Grill for me to fill them up."

Bonnie rolls her eyes at unabashed crudeness of the vampire as he heads out of the door.

"Okay. Well we went to red box and got _The Notebook_, _Dear John,_ and _The Lucky One_. So looks like annual Nicholas Sparks night is a go," Caroline says excitedly as she heads towards the DVD player.

"And we stopped at the little Chinese place on the way here," Elena says continuing the enthusiasm and following the blonde into the living room.

"Can't wait," Bonnie replies with less excitement than both of her friends as she joins them.

* * *

Bonnie wakes up to the sound of her alarm clock. She has resolved to attend school today against the doctor's orders, just so she won't be stuck in the house with Damon all day. After their encounter last night, she thinks it best if they avoid one another.

She gets up to shower and get dressed. When she's all done, she grabs her backpack and goes to the kitchen to get an energy bar. On her way to retrieve breakfast, she stops in the living room to find a shirtless Damon passed out face down on the couch, with his shoes still on and a half a bottle of Whiskey in his hand.

Bonnie shakes her head at the sight of the intoxicated vampire, before continuing her journey to the kitchen. Once she grabs the energy bar, she gets her keys from the end table by the hall closet and heads out the door.

It's not until she is already buckled in with the keys in the ignition that she realizes she can't drive with a cast on.

"Damn," she curses aloud.

So much for avoiding the vampire, either she could spend the entire day cooped up in the house with him or she could suffer through a 10 minute car ride.

Or she could always walk. I mean school wasn't that far away, but it did look like it would be raining soon.

She was being ridiculous she knows that, but the way her and Damon left things was not a good place to start this early in the morning, especially without coffee. Being a rational person though, she decided on the lesser of two evils.

Bonnie walked back into the house. She stood at the living room archway for some time, trying to prepare herself because lately she never knew what to expect from their interactions. Finally, when she got up the nerve, she walked over to the couch and began to slight nudge the passed out vampire.

"Damon" she said as she continue to nudge

"Go away," Damon said sleepily

"I want to, but I need a ride to get there."

Bonnie waited for Damon to reply, but when he didn't she figured he'd gone back to sleep so she resumed her nudging.

"Damon, please. The bell is going to ring soon."

"Call one of your friends."

"They're already there. Please, Damon get up."

"Fine!" he says angrily.

Bonnie turned to leave, but she thought if she left him alone for an extended period of time, he would fall back to sleep. So she just stood in the corner of the room and was greeted by a series of milky white abs on a very cut and trim torso. Too bad that that torso and those abs belonged to Damon.

Damon got up, even though he didn't want to. He knew he owed Bonnie for speaking to her so harshly last night, even if what he said was true. He searched the couch for his V-neck and once he found it he threw it over his head. Bonnie just continued to watch his every movement, who was the creepy one now? But he wouldn't call her that or any name for that matter, he would just walk on eggshells and hope that she would forget what a dick he was last night. Damon picked up his shades and his keys before walking past Bonnie and to the front door. Then he did something he hadn't done in decades; he held the door open for her.

Bonnie started walking towards the front door fully expecting Damon to be at the car already, but when she got there and he was holding the door open, it look weird to say the least.

"Are you going to trip me?" Bonnie asked as she hesitated before walking through the door.

Damon was offended that she thought he would only do something nice for her to disguise an attempt to hurt her. He couldn't blame her for jumping to that conclusion, but he was still offended.

"No. I…you said I wasn't a gentleman so I just want to show you that I could be one," he says a little more hurriedly than he would have liked too.

"Oh," Bonnie say taken aback by his seemingly sincere attempt at honesty

"Are you going to go to the car or just stand here staring at the door?"

"And he's back." Bonnie says referring to Damon's brief personality change.

Bonnie walks through the door and to the passenger side of the vampire's Camaro. Damon walks behind her to open the door. Bonnie slides into the car and is shortly joined by him.

"Don't scratch the leather," he says as he starts up the car.

They drive in silence, mostly because they have nothing to say to one another, but also because they always seem say the wrong things to each other.

Surprisingly, Damon is the first one to break the silence.

"I don't normally do this but… I'm sorry."

"It's alright," the witch replies quickly. She doesn't want to rehash last night and she'd hoped he would be to hung-over to talk about it. She was used to being Damon's verbal punching bag, why should he start being sorry about it now.

"No, it's not. I know that. Listen I'll leave if you want. I know you didn't want me there in the first place, so I can just pack my bag and leave. I was getting ready to head out of town before your accident anyway."

"You're leaving town," Bonnie says surprising herself by the uneasiness of her tone.

"Is that concern I hear in your voice?" Damon questions

"Just when I was starting to think that you could actually be decent," Bonnie rolls her eyes at his question and diverts her attention out of the window. She would never admit to anyone, not even herself that she was concerned about Damon's departure.

"Yes, I'm leaving Mystic Falls. Stefan and I had a deal, whoever Elena didn't pick would leave town. So looks like I'm gone."

"Damon. You don't have to go, I'm sure Stefan doesn't really want you to leave."

"Why would I stay and continue being to perpetual third wheel? You said it yourself; it's pretty lame to hang around your brother's girl"

They pull up to school, and by the amount of kids mulling about it's easy to discern that the bell has already rung.

Bonnie didn't want to be late to class, but she was afraid that if she didn't say this now she wouldn't get the chance again.

"You should stay. Not just in town, but with me as well. I want you to continue to stay with me."

If someone were to ask Bonnie, why she felt the need to help Damon out, she would probably say keeping him in Mystic Falls meant that he couldn't go to another town and make meals of its citizens. She would say that she was doing this for the good of the people. Not because an inner voice was screaming "don't let him go." Certainly, not because she was afraid that she would miss him.

"You want me to stay so that we can continue to argue?" He asked.

She'd never thought she would see the day that she'd ask Damon Salvatore not to leave town. The vampire had left a trail of bodies in his wake, some of those bodies belonged to people she had cared about, and could never get back. Still, she and Damon always found a way to put aside their differences and work together for the benefit of Elena. She knew that in some instances he would have her back, and sometimes he was even reliable. She didn't trust him, but she didn't want him to leave either. What could she do?

"Damon. I'm trying to be your friend, just let me."

"I thought you hated me."

"I hate the things you do, not you. Stay Damon. The Grill wouldn't know what to do with the surplus of Whiskey. And how can the women in town survive without being constantly hit on by you?"

"Stop trying to flatter me, it's working," Damon smirks sadly

"Just think about it." Bonnie says before getting out of the car and walking towards the school.

Damon didn't know why, but he was already considering the witch's offer.

* * *

**Hey guys I decided to post this tonight in case the world ended tomorrow and you wanted to know what would happen in the third chapter lol. Thanks so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows. They encourage me so much so please continue showing the love! Hopefully I can get some writing in this weekend and maybe we could have a Bamon New Year's Eve kiss. I can't cook much, but I make a pretty mean omelet so I hope you guys enjoy that scene. I want to wish everyone a happy holiday and hope you guys stay safe.**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters & no infringement is intended._**

**_Winter Song_**

_They say that things just cannot grow_

_Beneath the winter snow_

_Or so I have been told_

_They say we're buried far_

_Just like a distant star_

_I simply cannot hold_

* * *

"Can you tell me again why I let you drag me all the way out here? I could be at the Grill, where there are fewer trees and little kids and more lonely women and single-malt whiskey?" Damon said as he strolled behind the young witch.

"Because Damon, It's Christmas Eve, and in between my accident and your seasonal depression, I didn't have time to come and get a tree. You can't have _Christmas_ without a Christmas tree." Bonnie answers as she continues thoroughly examining the trees, skipping over the lush and fuller ones.

"I don't have seasonal depression," the vampire counters while examining the same trees as the witch with open disgust.

"Oh drat. I thought I finally discovered the reason behind your alcoholism and reliance on the color black."

The girl finishes her statement and continues to walking down the outdoor aisle. Damon, who was thinking over Bonnie's words, sprinted to catch up with her.

"I don't have a reliance on black, it's a fashion choice judgey and plus I look damn good in it, if I do say so myself."

"Sure you don't and I knew you would."

Bonnie continued her pursuit of the perfect Christmas tree while Damon became focused on his thoughts.

_Damon hated shopping with a passion, and though he could never recall shopping for a Christmas tree, he was sure he hated that too. Why was he doing something he despised instead of something enjoyable like looking at himself in a mirror or drinking Bourbon while looking at himself in a mirror? Furthermore, why was he even still in town? Nothing was in Mystic Falls for him anymore, and he and Stefan had a deal, yet he broke it. All of these things he'd done for this girl. The girl he's hurt repeatedly and he knew the least he could do was acquiesce to the few things she asked of him. But he would not be caroling in an ugly sweater under no circumstances, that's where he drew the line. _

"Damon, I found the tree," Bonnie says excitedly calling the vampire from his thoughts and urging him to the spot where she stood.

_Bonnie waited eagerly for Damon to walk over and join her in her excitement. She's always loved Christmas, like many it was her favorite holiday. She loved the cool weather, the eggnog, the beautiful lights, and most of all she loved when her family gathered around the Christmas tree. For the past couple of years, she's had none of this though. Recently the day was spent eating Chinese food while perusing the Grimoire for new spells. With her dad working and her Grams gone, Christmas stopped being Christmas and more like a regular day for her. This year she hoped to change that._

_Damon hated to admit it to himself and he would never say it aloud, but his dead heart leapt at the sight of the witch's excitement. Bonnie hardly ever smiles, and she's never done it towards him. She usually just grimaces or contorts her face in a special judgey way when he is near. Damon is able to appreciate the rarity of the occurrence, so without even thinking he returns her smile._

When Damon arrives to the spot, he stops directly behind the witch, close enough so that he could feel the heat radiating off of her skin and he could breathe in her vanilla scent without interruption.

If for any reason she were to step back she would be faced with immediate contact with Damon's well-sculpted chest; a thought that Bonnie found both alluring and alarming at the same time.

Damon had been standing there for at least five minutes and not once in that time had he looked at the tree and not once in that time did Bonnie mention the tree that she so enthusiastically called him over to view. No, they both just stood there. Not really touching, but certainly feeling one another.

As much as Damon was enjoying the contact, he knew it was wrong, and that if Bonnie didn't stop him he might do something that they both would regret, her more than him. So the vampire decided to continue his practice of being a gentleman even though he was sure he would feel a great pain from the movement, he distanced himself from the witch before clearing his throat.

"Which tree is it?" He asks somewhat hoarsely.

"This one," Bonnie says pointing straight ahead

"That's not a tree it's a broom stick."

The tree in question was severely thinning and not nearly as lush as its brethren.

"It's a Charlie Brown tree," Bonnie says matter-of-factly

"A what?"

"Sometimes you really show your age you know that. Anyways a Charlie Brown tree is the thinnest and saddest looking tree that you can find, the one that no one else wants, but you do. So you take it home and dress it up in golden ornaments and dazzling lights. Then when you're done with it, it turns out way better than you could have ever imagined."

Both are aware of the undertones of Bonnie's statement, and both chose to ignore it.

"So you buy an ugly tree and go home and try to make it not ugly. Sounds like a lost cause to me"

"It's not a lost cause. It's our tree." Bonnie says as she turns around to smile at Damon "Come on say it with me…our…"

Damon grimaces outwardly, but internally he is absorbed by the fact that he's made Bonnie smile twice in the last ten minutes. He relents.

"Our tree. It's our stupid tree. Are you happy now?"

"Yes. You stay here and watch it and I'll go pay for it."

"Who else would want it besides a witch with a penchant for involving herself with charity cases?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes at the vampire, and starts to head to the register when he speaks again.

"Ah speaking of charity cases, here comes one of your favorite ones right now."

She turns around to see Jeremy and Stefan approaching them. Bonnie walks back to where Damon is holding their scrawny tree.

"Hello brother," Damon smirks before adding, "Little Gilbert," in as an afterthought.

"Damon, Bonnie what are you guys doing here?" Stefan asks

"Well you know, spreading holiday cheer and whatnot."

"I hadn't heard from you in few days, I was worried that you'd left town."

_Why did Stefan have to ruin his good mood? Damon did not want to discuss Elena or the fact that he'd lost her to the better man and what was more worrisome was the fact that he might have to do it in front of Bonnie and little Gilbert. So he deflects. _

"Oh no, It's just that Bonnie and I need some alone time, to take the holidays in, if you know what I mean," Damon says smirking and putting his arm around the witch, pulling her to his side. Bonnie quickly removes his hand to escapes his grasps.

_She didn't know what he was doing, but she did know that she didn't want any part in it, especially not in front of Stefan and Jeremy._

"Don't listen to him Stefan. He just came to his senses about how stupid he was being."

"Now snookums, I thought we agreed to no name calling during the holiday season."

Bonnie stares at Damon with a look that perfectly portrays annoyance; the vampire greets the look with his trademarked smirk. Even though he misses her smile, he still notices how attractive her face can look even in aggravation.

"Bonnie could I talk to you?" Jeremy asks ignoring the looks between the witch and Damon.

"Yea sure Jer," Bonnie quickly replies, thankful for an escape from this awkward situation.

Bonnie and Jeremy trot off with Damon watching until they disappear from sight, the vampire finds himself annoyed by this. When he turns his gaze back, his brother is staring him down.

"Damon. I thought you agreed to leave Bonnie out of whatever it is that you're planning?"

"Technically, I didn't agree to anything brother." Damon picks up the Christmas tree and starts walking towards the register. He knows that he isn't up for this tonight, so it's best to make his escape now. Stefan however joins him in his walk.

"I thought I left you back in the snow somewhere," Damon comments on his brother's reappearance.

"Are you thinking about how Bonnie or Elena for that matter is going to feel, once you're through with your little game?"

"I'm not playing a game; I'm buying a Christmas tree."

"Damon."

"Stefan."

"Leave her out of this."

"Bonnie's a big girl, she knows how to take care of herself."

"Bonnie is Elena's best friend Damon, if you hurt her then you hurt Elena. And I thought you cared too much about her to hurt her."

Damon ignores Stefan and pays for the tree. He declines help with attaching the tree to his roof, but accepts the rope instead. The vampire silently walks to his blue Camaro, quickly tying the knotted rope around the tree. Once he was sure it was secure, he stood back a moment to admire his work. Stefan however had had enough of his brother's silence and irrupted Damon's prideful moment, by forcibly turning him around to face him.

"Damon," He shouts almost angrily.

Damon broke.

"You don't get to do that Stefan. You don't get to get the girl and me as the personal bodyguard for her feelings; she's got you for that, she chose you for that. I lost her Stefan. I lost her and I lost Ric. Bonnie for whatever reason helps me through all of the painful bullshit. So don't tell me about how Elena will feel over my choices, think about how I feel over Elena's choices!"

Damon stares violently at his brother. Partly embarrassed over having opened himself up like that in front of Stefan, and partly angry that his brother pushed him there.

_Damon dropped his stare from Stefan and onto the ground. He could no longer stand upright in his brother's concerned glare. He knew that at any moment he would fold under the weight of all of his lose and his pain. But before Damon could succumb to the heaviness, he felt familiar warmth, encircle his hand. It wasn't the finger-lacing-hand holding of lovers, but it was much more than he knew he deserved. So he tugged on it appreciatively and looked up expectantly at the witch with kind eyes._

_Jeremy had wanted to go further into the tree lot, so that he could present Bonnie with her newly-purchased Christmas gift. It was a charm bracelet that featured a tiny witch on a broomstick, it was nothing more than a bauble, but Bonnie loved it anyways. After the gift giving, Jeremy ventured into discussing the status of their relationship; Bonnie however was hesitant to join her ex-boyfriend on that venture. She knew that she was going to have to use the threat of bodily harm to get Damon on his best behavior for the holiday, so she didn't have it in her to rehash hurt feelings with Jeremy, at least not now. So the former coupled began to head back towards the group when they overheard Damon and Stefan yelling at one another. They arrived just in time to hear the older vampire reveal a vulnerable side that she had only seen in flickers. When all the yelling was done, Damon looked visible broken. She'd seen him so ill that he was nearing death, and she seen him tied up from the ceiling and physically tortured, but she'd never seen his spirit so shattered. That is what made her go over to him and reach out. She knew from experience, that sometimes when you feel it all caving in one you, all that you need is to know that someone will be there to pull you from the wreckage. Bonnie knew that at least for tonight, she would have to be that person for Damon. _

"Stefan, I think you should go," the witch says protectively over the hurt vampire.

"I know…Look Damon," before Stefan can finish his sentence Bonnie cuts him off, "I think now would be a good time as any," she says.

Stefan doesn't fight her. He gives his brother a parting glance and walks away, with Jeremy closely following.

_Damon doesn't look at Bonnie or at the figure of his departing brother, he keeps his gazes to the ground, but he holds on to the witches hand for dear life. _

_Bonnie knows that even Stefan's exit, won't right everything he'd broke in Damon tonight, but she knew what would. _

"Damon, this is the first and last time I will ever say this to you, but… let's go get drunk."

* * *

**Okay guys, as always I'm so freakin appreciative over your favorites, follows, and reviews. So much so that I decided to write this chapter as a treat and as thank you for all the love you have shown me since I started this. I know one reviewer was having trouble with me switching from third to first person so frequently, I hope I corrected that for you. Anyways Happy Christmas Eve and be on the look-out for a new chapter in the next two weeks, I think Damon and Bonnie under the influence of alcohol might show their true feelings for one another! Again please keeping reading, reviewing, and showing love because I'm pretty sure that's how I'm gonna make it through the holidays with my family! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and no infringement is intended.**

**A Case of You**

_You're in my blood, you're my holy wine_

_You taste so bitter and so sweet_

_Oh I could drink a case of you darling_

_I would still be on my feet_

_I would still be on my feet_

* * *

"Wait here," Damon tells Bonnie as he strides ever so coolly through the masses of people, leaving the witch alone by the door. She takes the time to search the over-crowded restaurant for familiar faces, hoping that no one she personally knew would bear witness to her attempt at underage drinking or the fact that she is doing it with her least favorite vampire.

Damon had been only gone for five minutes or so, but Bonnie has had enough of standing by the door, she wants to bolt. But her conflicting feelings hinder her movement. Yes, she wants to leave, she knows that there is no way anybody in this town would serve her a drop of alcohol. The conflict arises because, even though she can't join him in his alcohol consumption, she worries that maybe she should stay there and be some sort of support system for Damon. They were friends now after all or at least working on becoming friends. Bonnie's thoughts are interrupted when the mass of people that were patronizing the Grill began piling out of the restaurant. Couples dropping their forks in the middle of chocolate desserts; families that were waiting to be seated began to exit in single file lines. Even the host and the bartender start to pack up. The manager is the last one to leave and as he does he drops what appears to be the key to the restaurant in waiting hands of the vampire. When the man leaves, Damon follows behind him, locking the door, and shutting the blinds. When he finishes the task he comes to stand near the witch.

"After you," he says in a dark whisper. Bonnie hesitates for a moment while she unsuccessfully tries to read Damon's face in the dim lighting. When she is unable to do so, she gives up and heads to the bar.

While Bonnie is sitting down, Damon goes behind the bar to retrieve two shot glasses and a large bottle of Tequila, he places all three items down before joining the girl on the other side of the bar. He takes a seat next to her and then begins to fill the two glasses with the clear liquid. He immediately downs the alcohol in his own cup, before Bonnie even has the chance to pick hers up. Being the reasonable of the two, Bonnie decides it's best to only sip her shot and not to throw it back like Damon. She knows she needs to maintain control and a clear head, especially since she was in the presence of the vampire, she knew control was everything.

Damon is on his third shot, and Bonnie is still on her first when he breaks the long-term silence between the two and speaks.

"I thought you hated alcohol, you must really be feeling sorry for me to be here."

"I don't hate alcohol and I don't feel sorry for you, stop being an ass and assuming things," she commands.

"Then why are you here?" he questions

Bonnie thinks for a moment before speaking again.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I think…I think it's because I know that you need a friend. Or someone to talk to at least."

"I have a friend, Jack. Bonnie. Bonnie. Jack." Damon says as he introduces the witch to a bottle of Jack Daniels that's shelved behind the bar.

"A real friend, Damon."

"I don't do that."

"You did it with Alaric," she painfully reminds

"Yea, but that was before he went and died, so why bother repeating the exercise again."

Damon throws back another shot before filling Bonnie's newly emptied glass with alcohol.

"You can't think like that. We've all been hurt, but that doesn't mean you stop allowing people in your life to avoid the pain."

"That's exactly what that means."

Damon drinks another shot, realizing that he's not nearly drunk enough for the direction this conversation is headed and neither is Bonnie.

"How about this judgey, when can share our hopes and dreams, and talk about anything that you want to, if you start drinking like a grownup."

Bonnie considers his proposal. An unfiltered look into Damon's mind was both scary and oddly intriguing.

"Deal," The witch says as she downs a shot in similar fashion to Damon. It burned, oh how it burned, but she wouldn't cough and give away her novice drinking status and add to the list of things the vampire could tease her about.

Damon pours her another. She downs it again, this time she accepts the burn, and she even embraces it.

"Why Elena?" Bonnie asks still somewhat recovering from burning sensation slowly moving down her esophagus.

"Why not Elena?"

"Don't be evasive."

Damon pours, Bonnie drinks.

"What do you want me to say? There was no set reason why I fell in love with her. I just did."

"The fact that she was in love with your brother didn't stop you?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I know that I am an ass for falling for my brother's girl."

Damon pours, they both drink.

"But you did it anyways."

"It wasn't like that. I didn't actively decide to love her. It just happened."

"Do you love her now?"

Damon takes a while before he answers the question, so long that Bonnie isn't sure whether he heard her or not. She is about to repeat the question, when he finally answers.

"Yes."

He wants to tell her that he will always love Elena and only Elena, but he doesn't. Partly because admitting that will mean accepting the fact that his pain will live with him for an eternity, and partly because he isn't sure if he whole-heartedly believes it anymore.

"Even after everything?"

"Even after everything," he echoes.

Pour. Drink.

Bonnie is really starting to feel the alcohol coursing through her veins and rushing to her head, erupting in a heady sensation. She fears that her new found liquid courage will arm her with enough bravery to delve deeper into Damon's psyche then she had originally planned to go.

"Even if she doesn't love you back? Even though she will never love you back? Even though for her it will always be Stefan? You'll still spend your existence pining for something that can never truly be yours," she slurs.

Damon looks at her, he really looks at her. She's been hurt as much as he has, but she still loved Jeremy, why wasn't it okay for him to still love Elena?

"Bonnie," he starts seriously, " She hurt me, but that doesn't mean I don't love her. I can't even blame her for choosing Stefan, he was the better choice, and I…I was the lesser," he admits with heartbreaking honesty

"Stefan was the safer choice, not the better," the witch corrects.

He ponders her words and the sincerity behind them.

"I get confused when you say nice things to me."

"_I _get confused when I say nice things to you!"

Pour. Drink.

"I think we've both had enough conversation for one night, how about a dance?"

Before Bonnie can answer Damon walks over to the sound station, and soon the words of Ray LaMontagne swell throughout the room.

_There comes a time, a time in everyone's life_

_Where nothing seems to go your way_

_Where nothing seems to turn out right_

Damon takes slow, but determined steps over to the witch, his glacial eyes unreadable. Bonnie knows she doesn't want to dance, but she feels her body moving to its own accord. She scrambles to stand up; when she does she stumbles a bit, but Damon is there to catch her.

_There may come a time, you just can't seem to find your place_

_For every door you open, seems like you get two slammed in your face_

_That's when you need someone, someone that you can call._

Damon holds the witch with one hand placed firmly on the nape of her back. With the other hand he slowly begins to trace the outline of Bonnie's jaw using his index finger. He revels in the warmth, she shivers from the touch. Her emerald eyes focus on his clear blue ones.

He helps her stand onto her feet, and for the second time tonight they lock hands. Damon slowly pulls her to the dance floor. When they get there, he replants his hand into its former position on her back this time instead of using it to hold her up; he uses it to push her towards him. Their bodies commingle, hard meets soft, vampire meets witch. Damon keeps their hands locked as he begins to lead her effortlessly in harmony with the music.

_"It's the tequila, it has to be the tequila_" Bonnie thinks to herself, assigning blame to the alcohol for the way her body reacts to contact with Damon's. Her rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and butterflies _have_ to be tequila induced.

_And when all your faith is gone_

_Feels like you can't go on_

_Let it be me_

_Let it be me_

Bonnie again attempts to search his eyes, hoping to happen upon his thoughts, but when nothing surfaces, she gives up and lays her head on his shoulder.

Damon is surprised when Bonnie finds comfort on his chest, but he doesn't let it stop his movement, they continue swaying under the dim lights. He imagines what they look like, his milk-white skin pressed to her caramel skin. When Bonnie leisurely wraps her free casted hand around his neck, he pauses to look down at her, but she hides her face in her hair, so he resumes the dancing.

_If it's a friend that you need_

_Let it be me_

_Let it be me_

"How bad does it hurt?" Bonnie asks quietly, interrupting their silence "Loving someone who can't fully love you back."

Damon wants to pretend that he doesn't know what she's talking about, but he's already bared so much of his soul to her, why stop now?

"I have nothing to compare it too."

Bonnie raises her head up to look at him, Damon instantly misses the contact.

"Not to Katherine?"

Damon shakes his head, hoping that a quick answer would stir Bonnie back into her former position. When it doesn't, he continues on, "Elena was my hope. Katherine ultimately was my doom. Elena came to me at a time that I didn't have anything to live for, but an eternity to live. She gave me hope and purpose. Katherine came and offered me this life, but it's not what I wanted. At the time I only wanted her, forever, I just didn't think forever would be this long and minus the girl."

"She didn't want you back."

"She did, but I don't think it was a much as she needed Stefan."

_Feels like you always commin up last_

_Pockets full of nothin, ain't got no cash_

_No matter where you turn, you aint got no place to stand_

Bonnie considers his words for a moment, before returning her head back to his shoulder. Damon wants to thank her for the warmth, but he doesn't, he just sighs in relief.

"I know…I know how that feels, not to be enough for someone who is everything to you" she confides

"I know. I'm sorry" He doesn't need to ask, because he already knows she is referring to never being the most important thing to anyone, in this case the anyone is Jeremy Gilbert.

_You reach out for something and they slap your hand_

_Now I remember all too well_

_Just how it feels to be all alone_

The mood is somber now, and Damon knows it's late and he should get Bonnie home, plus there's still a Christmas tree attached to his car. He enjoys holding the witch, and he fears this will be his only chance to do so, so he savors the moment, the smell, the warmth and the feeling before releasing her even though his body aches from her removal.

"Come on let's go home."

* * *

The car ride home, quiet and subdued, for the most part, though judgey Bonnie was quickly becoming flirty Bonnie. She'd even touches his knee while in the car, as a gentlemen and the only sober one of the two he ignores the things the contact did to his lower half.

When he pulls up outside of her house, he goes around the car to open her door. He tries to hold her hand to help her walk, but she pushes him away. When she tries to walk on her own, she trips, but again Damon is there to catch her. This time he picks her up into his arms and carries her into the house.

Bonnie is really enjoying being in Damon's arms, how they feel wrapped around her, and how close she gets to be to the well sculpted torso, she's sometimes fantasied about.

Damon places her onto the couch, Bonnies sighs in disapproval of the loss of contact, and so while he is still leaning over her to drape a quilt around her body, she pulls him down on top of her. Before the vampire can question her behavior, Bonnie has her lips roughly and hurriedly thrashing against his.

He wants to stop her, but he also wants to continue. He's at war with himself.

Bonnie wraps both of her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her, as she takes the lead and begins to slip her tongue in his mouth.

Damon moans at the pleasure of having his tongue meet hers as they encircle one other in a private wet dance. He starts to run his fingers through her long chocolate tresses, while leaving her mouth momentarily to plant a trail of kisses around her jawline.

Bonnie groans in approval. She wants more access to his chest, but his leather jacket is proving to be a hindrance, she tries to tug it off, but she can't muster the strength.

"Off." She commands roughly

Damon does as he is told and removes his jacket. He pushes his knee in between her legs to gain his own access to all of the unchartered territory of Bonnie Bennett. Due to this repositioning she is able to feel what she assumes is his erection, his very large erection. Damon, who is hungrily sucking at Bonnie's caramel neck, misses seeing the witch wet her lips with longing at the pressing of his member to her thigh. Damon knew that his tiny piranha bites would leave the witch with passion marks for days, but that's what he secretly hoped for. He wanted to mark the girl, to mark her as his.

Feeling that he has given her neck adequate attention, at least for now, Damon moves back to the girl's plump lips. He sucks slowly and skillfully at her bottom lip before consuming her whole mouth with his, providing an orgasmic combination of teeth, lips, passion and pain. Bonnie tangles her uninjured hand in the vampires soft ink black hair, while Damon slowly begins to slide his cool fingers underneath the girl's navy t-shirt.

He is overcome with sensation. She is overwhelmed with feeling.

Damon has been called a lot of thing in his time, and selfless was not one of them. He was a greedy asshole, and right now he had only ever wanted one thing more than he wanted the beautiful witch that lied beneath him, and that was blood. He need more. More flesh, more touching, more Bonnie. He hungers to see her stand proud in her naked glory with the moonlight dancing on her caramel skin. As much as he wants her, as much as he needs her in this moment; he knows that she is not his to want or to need. Pulling a million wooden stakes from every limb on his body, every day for the rest of his eternity, would be easier than pulling away from the witch right now, it takes a herculean effort, but he does it. He holds his breathe, believing that will numb the aching his body has developed for her, as he rises to meet her passion-filled green eyes.

"Why did you stop?" Bonnie asks somewhat throatily

"We can't do this," he says doing his best trying to hide the longing in his voice, he fails.

"We can." Bonnie says as she caresses his angular jaw line and resumes kissing his mouth, only his lips don't move with hers.

"We can't" Damon says again firmly pulling away from the girl and removing her hands.

"Please." She begs in almost a whisper

"No." Damon says simply as he finally untwines himself from her to stand up from the couch. He has to do some adjusting, to hide his still evident and contradictory erection.

"Is it because I'm not Elena?" she accuses

"No, it's because you're drunk," he tells her

"And when I'm sober?"

"And when you're sober, you probably won't want to come near me," he says somewhat sadly.

"That's not true…I care about you," Bonnie declares as she sits up from the couch, ignoring the layer of sweat that has produced on her skin causing her thin t-shirt to stick to her body.

"I know," Damon tells her as he moves further across the room, an eager and sweaty Bonnie was not doing anything to reduce his erection.

"But I should hate you"

"I know."

"My grams is dead because of you, my mom is dead because of you, and I'm alone _because of you_." Her bright green eyes glisten with tears.

Damon uncharacteristically wants to comfort the witch. To soothe her tears, to hold her until she realizes that she is not alone, but he can't bring himself to do it. Instead he apologizes.

"I'm sorry about your Grams. She shouldn't have died trying to help me, but I will never be sorry for you mother. She deserted you, she abandoned you, she is one of the reasons you believe that you aren't good enough, so yea when I had to choose between killing her or you, it wasn't even a choice Bonnie."

"You said I wasn't good enough!" she tearfully reminds

"I wanted to hurt you. I said that to hurt you"

"So, that's not what you truly think?"

"No, it's not."

They're both quiet.

"Come on, you need to get some rest."

Damon walks the still weeping girl upstairs.

Bonnie is too tired to get ready for bed, she is too tired to do anything, but sleep. Damon senses this and so when they enter the room, he helps her out of her cardigan, and carefully drapes it on the back of her desk chair.

She stands to face him. Their eyes lock.

"Sit," he demands. Bonnie does as she is told and sits down on her bed.

Damon kneels in front of the witch; he carefully wipes the remnants of her tears from her sleepy face. He quickly unlaces her tennis shoes, before pulling them off and removing her socks.

"Do you want to change into pajamas?"

Bonnie shakes her head no. Damon grabs her hands to pull her up. He goes to peal her purple duvet back to allow her to entry into the bed. Once Bonnie is safely tucked under her covers, Damon turns to leave, but the girl reaches for his arm.

"Stay," she says simply before turning over and drifting off.

Damon adheres to her wishes; he clears himself a nice spot on the hard wood floor across from the bed where the girl rests. He straightens his legs and crosses them at the ankle, before placing his hands in his lap and watching the sleeping witch intently.

_How things have changed since the last time he visited her bedroom. He's no longer drunk, he's not numb, and the aching he usually feels for the girl he didn't win, has become ever distant in the presence of the witch; the witch who had been entering his thoughts more frequently now. He knew he'd always cared about her, but he'd often dismissed his feelings for her when her judgey behavior began to irritate him. He didn't know when that had shifted to something more. Maybe it was because she was always honest with him, and they could admit things to one another that they could not admit to anyone else. Maybe it was because when he needed somebody, anybody the only person who was there for him was the person who had sworn to hate him. Or it could have been that first kiss; it was a catalyst to all of this. Of course he would develop feelings for the girl when days later he was still mesmerized by the way her lips had felt against his, the way his body had felt against hers. She was forbidden to him, that made her more desirable surely, but that was certainly not the only thing he found desirable about Bonnie Bennett. _

_Damon was aware. He was aware of the fact the he definitely didn't deserve the witch, and he was aware that most likely she would never truly want him. He had hurt her too much to earn her forgiveness, let alone her affection. Damon was aware that even though she filled him with peace, his tranquility was marred by trepidation. He'd loved Elena, and he would have done anything for her, but he'd also lost Elena. Even if what he felt for the witch, his witch, was true, he couldn't hurt himself like that again. Loving always eventually meant losing. Damon was much better at the losing part than the loving. Still a large part of him clung onto the irrational hope that maybe loving Bonnie was different. Maybe she wouldn't hurt him like Elena or Katherine, and maybe she wouldn't leave him as empty. He wasn't even sure if it was love, but Bonnie did own a piece of him now, of that he was sure. He cared about what happened to her, he wanted to protect her, but he didn't know how and he didn't know if he was one of the things she needed protection from. He thought about her often, her smile, her smell, the fact that she deserved love more than anyone else and the fact that he knew she deserved a love better than his. Bonnie should have someone warm, and honest, someone who wasn't responsible for the death of two of her family members. Most of all Damon was aware that Bonnie Bennett deserved everything, and he just had nothing more to give. _

The vampire let these thoughts consume him for so long, that the sight of the rising sun was the only thing that stirred him. He knew that Bonnie would be waking up soon, and probably with a hell of a hangover, plus there was still a tree dangling from his roof, all of these things needed to be dealt with. So for the first time since he'd put her in bed, Damon rose from his spot on the floor and left the witch's side.

The vampire decided that the first thing he would do, would be to bring the Christmas tree into the house, and after that was taken care of he would give his best effort to try and make her an omelet. Bonnie deserved breakfast in bed, and he was almost certain that no one had provided this service to her before, he would correct this wrong.

Damon went to open the front door, and was greet by the hazel eyes and olive skin that had haunted his dreams for the past year.

"Elena," he says softly.

* * *

**Hey guys, I hope you had a Merry Merry Christmas! This was a tricky chapter to write so I really need you guys to review it and tell me what you think. I've never written a make-out scene or a kiss before so bear with me, I hope to get better. The banter was limited, but they got to expresses a lot of feelings that they normally wouldn't have. I finished this a week early, because I start school back on the 14****th**** and I want to give you guys as much Bamon as possible. Most likely when the semester starts, I won't be updating regularlyL. Anyways let's see how Bonnie reacts to finding Damon with Elena. As always please review, favorite, follow, and share. Even if you don't have anything to say about the story, just drop by to say hello, I love hearing from fellow Bamon shippers!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Our Song**

_All I have, I will give to you_

_And at times when no one wants to_

_I will give you me_

_And we'll be_

_Us_

_And there's no one else_

_That knows me_

_Like you do_

_What I've done_

_You've done too_

_The walls I_

_Hide behind_

_You walk through_

_You just walk through_

* * *

The witch yawns and stirs as the invading sunlight slowly brings her slumber to a disappointing end. Her eyes flicker open, but they close almost immediately as she is confronted by a massive ringing in her ears and a queasy stomach.

"Ouch," Bonnie says as she remembers the gross amount of alcohol she'd ingested hours before.

She needs aspirin and coffee and she needs them now.

_Why did she drink so much?_ She ponders as she hides her head beneath her bedcovers. The girl decides against leaving her bed to retrieve the necessary items, believing that the move would be too risky in her current state.

_Why?_

She never drinks, and when she does, it's not in excess. And she never wakes with a hangover.

Then it hits her. Damon.

"Ouch," Bonnie says as she is reminded that during the height of her intoxication, she had practically molested the vampire, and that he'd allowed it, welcomed it even, until he didn't.

The witch retreats further under the covers, resolving to never come out again.

_And how could she? She'd thrown herself at Damon Man-Whore Salvatore and he'd thrown her back. The same Damon that would happily sleep with anything with a pulse had turned her down. How could she face him again? How could she face the world?_

_She couldn't. She would just have to explain to Elena and Caroline that she had decided to become a recluse. Which she was certain that they wouldn't buy; her only choice now would be to leave the country. Brazil has to be nice this time of year. _

_What was she thinking? She couldn't leave the country. She didn't even have a passport. No, she was brave and tough and surely not afraid of some misunderstanding that happened when she was drunk. No, she wouldn't leave. She would simply take the easier and just as effective route and pretend like nothing happened._

Just as Bonnie had resolved to feign amnesia, her bedcovers are thrown back and she is harshly exposed to the very elements that she'd been successfully avoiding.

"Good morning sunshine," Damon cheerfully smirks as he holds a steaming cup of coffee in his cold grasps.

_Bonnie wants that coffee, but asking him for it means that she would most likely have to talk to him about last night. And that was something that she was not prepared to do. _

She scoots up in her bed so that is leaning against her headboard, providing much needed space between her and the vampire.

"Not now Damon," she tells him roughly, blowing him off as she uses her hands to shield herself from the sun.

"What's wrong? Witchy got a headache?" he jokes as he hovers closer to her.

"Please leave me alone, I'm sure that somewhere there's a wooden stake with your name on it, why don't you do us all a favor and go find it."

_Bonnie decided that snark and insults was the only way she could get out of this awkward situation alive. So she was going to use all that she had. _

Damon isn't as bothered by her suggestion as she'd hoped. He sighs before joining her in bed and passing her the coffee. The witch gratefully accepts the warm caffeinate beverage, as she moves closer to the edge of the bed.

The vampire sees the move, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he reclines back and places his arm underneath his head for support.

"You know we could always finish what we started last night?" he says turning to face the girl with one seductive eyebrow raised.

Bonnie almost spits out her coffee at the thought.

"I don't know what you're talking about" She lies.

He smiles at her lie. _So that's how she's playing it?_

"You don't?" he questions.

"No. I don't even…I can't remember anything that happened last night. Hard to make heads or tails of anything really," when she finishes she stares down at her coffee, hoping that somewhere in the steam, it was written how to escape this uncomfortable encounter.

"How about a refresher course?"

Bonnie doesn't have time to question his words before she finds her coffee on the end table, and her body underneath Damon, who straddles her.

Damn.

He leans down so that his upper body makes contact with hers, planting his arms on either side of her so that she is effectively trapped.

He searches her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie questions almost hoarsely

"Since you said that you had no recollection of last night's events, I thought I would do my civic duty and remind you."

"No need."

"Yes need. I have great need."

"Damon."

"Bonnie"

"Stop. Please stop."

"Why?"

"Because we can't, I can't."

"We can. I want to… no, I need to kiss you. I need to kiss you and have you remember, to have you be present. Here with me. No car accidents, no alcohol, and no brooding Stefan. Just us."

Bonnie gulps at his honesty.

"Oh."

Damon hesitates for a moment, to gauge the witch's acceptance of his request, when it seems as though she approves, he lowers himself further down.

She feels his icy breathe on her lips; it serves as an enticing precursor for what was to come. Damon begins slowly and sensually. Ravishing her lips with his own, in a soft and indulgent kiss. The kiss is void of tongue, which Bonnie woefully regrets, but she is satisfied with just Damon's soft cold lips making a feast out of hers. Damon moves one of the hands he was using to hold her place, and begins gentle caressing her jawline.

It was in this moment that Bonnie threw herself into the kiss. She'd wanted to act like an innocent bystander, like this was happening to her, not with her. But his cool hand moving softly against her face, coupled with his lips tenderly conquering her own, she was rendered helplessly aroused. She threw her arms around his neck, bringing him closer. So close that she was sure that her body would happily melt if it had not been for his cool temperature.

As soon as Bonnie gives into temptation, the kiss is over. Damon pulls back, and begins searching the eyes of the witch once more. As she is left breathlessly wondering, _why did he stop?_

"Say that you want me," he says throatily, his voice erupting with need.

"What?" she questions still catching her breathe.

"Say that you want me, and I'll finish kissing you."

"Damon, I'm not going to beg you to kiss me."

"I don't want you to beg… at least not yet," he grins before continuing, "I only want you to admit that you want this."

"Why would I admit something that isn't true?"

"You wanted it last night."

"I have no way of knowing that, seeing as I don't remember last night"

_Damon decides that if she wasn't going to admit that she wanted all of him, she wasn't going to get any part of him, including his lips. _

"Fine," Damon says simply as he begins to detangle himself from the witch. But before he can get upright, she grabs his shoulder to hold him in place.

"Wait… I remember, Damon," she says begrudgingly.

_Why couldn't he be happy with the fact that she obviously wanted to kiss him? Why did he need to hear the words too? _

"You remember what," he taunts returning to his former position.

_God, why was she doing this? She knew he would make her suffer for her lies. _

"I remember us, making out on the couch, and you rejecting me," she mumbles the last part before looking away.

_Why did she mumble? Did Bonnie think that he pushed her away because he didn't want her? The witch was smart; she was really smart, so how could she make such a dumb assumption. He knew she wouldn't believe his words. No, he could show her better than he could tell her. _

In an instant, he once again he pins her to the bed. Before proceeding to allow the movement of his lips to write the girl a note of burning desire. For a time, his mouth moves languidly against hers, basking in the supple nature of her full lips. He briefly stops their kiss, to nurture the patch of Carmel skin over her pulse point with his tongue. Once he is done, he travels the course from her neck to her mouth with his lips, finally resuming their kiss.

She tastes his fiery heat, as he begins to tug on her lip, hoping to gain further access. She grants it and they resume their erotic tongue dance from the night before. Like last night's this dance is too brief for Bonnie's liking, because shortly after it begins, Damon pulls away.

"What now?" the witch asks somewhat irritated by his behavior.

"I stopped last night, because I didn't want to take advantage of you."

"What?"

"I wanted you so bad, so bad, last night. But I wasn't going to have sex with you when you were too drunk to know if that's what you really wanted. So I stopped it. Not because I didn't want you, but to protect you from doing something that I knew you would regret," he admits

"I wouldn't have regretted it. I kissed you first. I knew what I was doing," she offers.

"You were drunk," he counters.

_Bonnie was sick of people telling her, who she was, what she wanted, and what she could have. No, she didn't understand her feeling for Damon, but she did know that last night she'd wanted him. _

"Don't do that. Don't…I'm trying," she says losing all of the irritation left in her voice

"So am I," he replies

Damon removes himself from the girl and goes back to lying beside her on the bed. Surprisingly, Bonnie places her head on his chest and curls up next to him. He greets her movement, by wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing her closer.

"What are we trying for?" he questions solemnly

"I don't know. But I'm exhausted from pretending like there's nothing between us. I've known it since that first night, maybe even before," she confesses

"That night could have gone oh so differently, if you knew how to cross the street."

They both laugh.

When the laughter ceases, Bonnie looks up at him and ask, "We hate each other right? We can't do this?"

"I don't hate you." He tells her, briefly meeting her gaze, before returning his head to the pillow.

She sighs, "I don't hate you either. So what do we do?"

"This." He replies simply, tightening his arm around her.

"This?" she questions, smiling at the tightening of his arm.

"I mean. We just do what we've been doing lately. We get to know each other and take it from there."

"What if I don't like you?"

"You probably won't."

"What about Elena."

"What about her?"

"I thought she was your one great love," she says somewhat sarcastically

"What if I want a new one?"

They both are quiet after Damon's question.

"Well, what do we tell people?" Bonnie says changing the subject

"Nothing, it's none of their business."

"Yea, I know, but I think Jeremy wants to get back together. He practically told me so, yesterday at the tree lot."

_Little Gilbert was putting the moves on his girl, while he was only a couple of feet away. Granted, he's not sure if Bonnie would consider herself, his girl, but he did and the kid would have to pay mightily for his transgression. _

"Forget him," _not the f word he really wanted to say._

"I know but…"

Damon cuts Bonnie off, by placing a series of closed mouth kisses on her lips.

"Forget him," he manages to say in a pleadingly stern way.

"Okay," she sighs before nuzzling her head onto his chest and inhaling his cool and delectable scent.

* * *

_Ding-Dong._

Bonnie hears the doorbell, but she is certain that she is dreaming so her eyes stay closed.

_Ding-Dong._

_Ding-Dong._

This time she is knows that she is not dreaming, and that there is actually someone at her door. She opens her eyes, to find that the vampire, her vampire, now has both of his arms draped around her in a tight embrace. She is greatly surprised by how safe, how protected she feels in his arms. She could take care of herself, she was a big girl, but Damon's arms offered her a sort of safety she had never known. She couldn't describe it; she only knew that it was foreign to her.

"Damon," she whispers

He continues his slumber.

"Damon, someone's at the door," she says a little louder, but he still doesn't stir. Finally she begins to struggle from his hold, to answer the door. As soon as she swings her legs over the bed to get up, a long white head reaches up to pull her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" The vampire growls as he bites at the earlobes of the girl in his arms.

"The door… there's someone at the door," Bonnie says trying not to let Damon's mouth be her undoing.

"They can wait."

Damon stops his biting and starts to maneuver Bonnie onto his lap until the girl is straddling him. She gasps as she feels the beginning of an erection prodding through the vampire's pants.

"I want you," he says reaching up to stroke her face.

"I know," she replies throatily

"They can wait," he begs soulfully with his glacial eyes.

_Ding-Dong_

Bonnie leans down and places a chaste kiss on Damon's forehead, before standing to her feet and exiting the room.

Damon sighs and follows her. She is almost to the door, before she notices from the outline of the figures at her frosted door, that her visitors are Caroline, Tyler, Stefan, Elena, Matt, and Jeremy.

Damn.

"Bonnie, Open up. It's Caroline and it's raining," the girl says through the door.

"I told you we should have called first," Elena comments.

"I thought you told Damon that you would be by later?" Stefan asks.

"I did." Elena replies

Damn. And double damn for Damon.

"Coming you guys. Just give me a sec," Bonnie shouts.

The witch starts to panic and quickly retreats back up the stairs. In her retreat she bumps into Damon. She grabs him and forces him back into her room.

"So now you want to play dirty," he smirks hopefully as he walks over to her oozing seduction.

It takes Bonnie a while to find her voice as she drinks in his appearance, "No. No. No." she says pressing her hand against Damon's chest to impede his kiss.

"They're downstairs," she whispers

"So?" he questions still trying his best to kiss the girl

"So? So how do I explain to Stefan and Jeremy why I still have the same clothes on? And what do we say about us?"

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't know. I just…I don't feel like having to explain _us_ to everyone when I don't even know what _we _are."

"Fine, so we won't tell them. Now kiss me," he again tries to maneuver around her hand, but she holds it in place.

"You're not mad that nobody will know about us?"

"Am I mad that you're treating me like a common whore? No, it's kind of hot. Now kiss me."

"Damon, be serious," she demands.

"Look. I'm not ready either, for Stefan's furrowed brow and Jeremy sharing his sad emo playlist all on my timeline. Or for Caroline and Co constantly telling me how I don't deserve you."

"On better thought maybe we should tell them," Bonnie says lightening the mood.

"Ha-ha very funny. Now kiss me."

She finally removes her hand from his chest, upset that it wasn't until the end of their conversation that she fully got to appreciate his flawless pectorals. She isn't upset for too long, because in the next second he has her pressed against the wall, with his mouth moving hurriedly against hers. Damon uses one hand to grab her neck in an effort to deepen the kiss, and with his other he runs his index finger up and down Bonnie's side. Effectively sending shivers down the girl's spine.

This time it is her that pulls away. Knowing that too much of this, and her friends would be at the door all night.

Damon sighs, but relents, "You get dressed and I will go and keep the kiddies entertained."

"Are you sure old man?" she asks surprised

"Yes, now kick me out of the room, before I stay to watch you change."

"Get out Damon." Bonnie laughs

Damon starts to leave the room, but stops on his heels to turn around and face the girl again.

"Oh and Bonnie"

"Yes?"

"Merry Christmas," he smiles. And with that he exits, leaving the gushing witch to get changed.

* * *

**Hey, guys I hope you all like this chapter. I know I only briefly mentioned Damon's conversation with Elena, but I will revisit it more next chapter. I hope everyone had a great holiday and let's hope for some Bamon action on the show this year. Please review, follow, favorite & let me know what you think of the chapter, I love hearing from you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Like A Star**

_Still I wonder why it is_

_I don't argue like this_

_With anyone but you_

_We do it all the time_

_Blowing out my mind_

* * *

Damon slowly drags his feet as he walks to the door, wishing like hell that the witch would have chosen to ignore her nagging friends as opposed to his needs. When he finally opens the door he is greeted by a somewhat disgruntled group of slightly drenched teens and vampires.

"Sorry kiddies, you're a little late and to be honest a little old for Halloween," Damon says as he tries to close the door on the group, but Stefan quickly places his foot in the doorway to halt its closure.

"Very funny, Damon," Stefan says dryly as he holds the door open while everyone else piles into the living room, making themselves comfortable.

"I see you finally got the tree up," Elena says more to herself than to Damon who simply grunts in response.

"Where's Bonnie?" Jeremy asks looking around the front of the house.

_Damon knows that he and Bonnie agreed not to tell anyone about their relationship or whatever it is, but Jeremy is obviously provoking him, by simply mentioning the witch. When did the kid get so bold? _

"She went on vacation. Somewhere that's free of loser burn-outs, so I guess you won't be finding her anytime soon Diego. " Damon replies quickly, hoping to permanently squelch whatever fantasy the boy had about him and the witch.

Satisfied by the blank look that appears on Jeremy's face, the vampire heads to the kitchen; if he is going to make it through the night he is definitely going to require the assistance of his good friend Jack.

He is in the process of searching for the liquor supply that he personally purchased for the girl's dry house, when he hears his brother clearing his throat.

"Stefan, are you okay? Sounds like you're choking on all of your self-righteousness."

"Elena told me she came over this morning," Stefan answers ignoring his brother's joke.

"And…?" Damon says still searching the cabinets

"And she told me that you all talked about what happened at the tree lot"

"Is this going somewhere, because if not I- -"

Stefan interrupts before his brother can finish his sentence, "Damon, I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for the way I've been behaving towards you lately."

"You call that an apology? Come on you can do better than that little bro," he tells the other vampire as he finally locates the liquor and begins to pour himself a glass of the dark liquid.

"Look, I know sometimes I can be hard on you, but it's only because I know that you've made so much process with your behavior and your temper. I just don't want you to regress. And I definitely don't want anything to come between us"

Damon wants to say, _too late, _but instead he settles on, "Are you calling me a pussy?"

"No, I'm saying that you've matured and that I'm proud of you. So if you say that there's nothing going on with you and Bonnie, I believe you," Stefan replies sincerely

"Wow, I am just so touched by your heartfelt words, but I think I'm gonna need to raise my blood alcohol level a bit, before we start talking about rainbows and unicorns little girl."

"Sure Damon," he says with a smile before he trots off, leaving Damon alone in the kitchen.

He pours himself another drink.

_Sure Stefan could be forgiving, now that he was certain that Elena's feelings for him were much greater than the ones she possessed for Damon. But what would he say when he finds out the truth about him and Bonnie? Damon always did have a thing for forbidden fruit. This time was different though, and he was convinced that his desire to taste the witch would outweigh the fear of any wrath that he might incur from the bite. _

He is engrossed in his thoughts when he hears Elena walk in.

"What, did they kick you off the polar express?" Damon questions

"No. No, I just wanted to come over and check on you. We're getting ready to play charades, and I just thought that maybe you might want to play," the brunette offers

"No thanks, I'll leave the reindeer games to you and the rest of Santa's elves," Damon declines as he downs the last of the liquid remaining in his glass.

"Damon, I… I don't want this to be weird. I don't want us to be weird…with one another," she confesses, walking closer to the counter that the vampire leans on.

"How could this possibly be weird? You chose Stefan, I moved on. Zero weirdness."

"Then why did you move out of the manor? And why don't I ever see you anymore?"

"I moved on," he reiterates, enunciating each syllable.

"Oh."

"Oh."

Elena turns around and begins to leave the room, but she stops in the doorway fidgeting with her fingers and says, "I still care about you, even if you moved on. I still care about you."

Damon sighs, "Elena I know…I…me too."

Content with his answer, she finally leaves the room, giving the vampire his much needed space to think.

_Of course he still cared about Elena, he would always care about her, but he also cared about Bonnie. At least Bonnie wanted him, and he wanted her too. It wasn't like the bullshit unrequited love that he'd possessed for Elena. He didn't even know if it was love, but to be fair lately he didn't know much about anything. _

Damon starts pouring himself another drink. He hears a lot of commotion in the front of the house, but he figures that Bonnie must have finally made her way down the stairs.

_He is inclined to continue his post in the kitchen, because he knows that he can never fit in her world. When they are together they create their own world, where there is only enough room for the two of them, and a preferable a bed draped in sheets with at least a 500 thread count. But when she is with her friends, he doesn't fit with her, and that's okay. At least he gets to see the parts of her that no one else does. _

He is about to down his current drink when he hears:

"Stop it, put me down, now!"

In an instant he recognizes that its Bonnie's voice and he rushes to the living room accordingly. When he makes it to the front of the house no one notices him. He searches the room ignoring Elena and Stefan huddled on the sofa, Matt sitting on the arm of the sofa drooling at the couple, and Carolina reclining in Tyler's lap in the armchair, until he spots his witch.

He involuntarily growls when he sees Bonnie being held playfully in Jeremy's arms. Damon's predatory noise goes unnoticed thankfully, and he hopes that his impalement of the boy will also.

Bonnie doesn't see Damon at first, but she senses him. She looks up to find his bright blue eyes focused solely on her. She immediately stops laughing and shrugs out of Jeremy's grasps. Even though she is free of her ex's hold, the vampire still looks deadly. She fears that Damon will lose his temper and reveal to everyone everything that happened upstairs before they arrived, or worse that he would physically assault Jeremy.

Elena is the second one to notice Damon leering at the girl, but she ignores it.

"Damon you finally decided to come and join us," she says suddenly causing everyone to shift their focus to the vampire. Jeremy turns, so he too can view Damon, but he drapes one arm around Bonnie in the process.

Damon wants to snap the boy's neck at the contact, but he doesn't. He locks his jaw, and says through gritted teeth, "I would love to, but old Jack isn't doing the trick tonight, so I'm off in search of something a bit stronger."

_The witch feels terrible, she knows that Damon is drinking because of her, that he feels like an outsider and instead of making him feel included she only further alienated him. _

"You can't spend Christmas alone Damon" Stefan says trying to talk some sense into his brother

"Let him go Stefan, it wasn't like he was an abundance of holiday cheer anyways." Caroline says

"Caroline, knock it off!" Elena cautions

"No, surprisingly Barbie's actually right for once. I'm just going to go scrooge out some place where there's hot women and cold bourbon," Damon says and with that he walks out of the door, the witch watching his every movement.

_He knows that his insinuation that he was going to hook up with some random chick probably hurt the witch, but so what. He was angry, and it was because of her. _

"Guys, I'll be right back. I'm just going to go check on Damon," Bonnie says heading out the room, ignoring the eyebrows that rise at her statement.

Damon is already in his car with the ignition running, by the time she makes it outside. She quickly jogs to the car in order to enter the vehicle before he takes off.

"What." He says snappily as she slides in next to him

"Where are you going?" she asks ignoring his tone

"I told you hot women, cold bourbon."

"Are you really saying this to me right now? After everything… are you really going to go to a bar to hit on some girls?" She says astonished by his words

"As opposed to staying here and watching Jeremy swing you around like a chew toy?" he asks

"Damon, I told you that he thinks that we…that he still has unresolved feelings for me."

"And I told you to forget him."

"I can't just forget him, I've known him all my life, and he's my best friend's kid brother. I can't just forget about him."

"I need to be leaving."

"Come back in Damon. Please."

"I know that red, is a really festive color this time of the year, but if I go back inside then let's just say you will have a little too much red in your décor," he says darkly

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, let me clear it up for you honey, if I go back into that house, I'm going to rip your boyfriend's heart from his chest."

"You wouldn't do that to Jeremy. He's our friend."

"Correction, he's your friend and I would gladly do that to him. Not only that, but I would enjoy it too."

Bonnie stares at him with a look of utter disgust, but somewhere in that look, lay her disappointment.

_Why did she think this would work? Damon was Damon, and she was the anti-Damon. Why had she let herself hope, and dwell in the possibilities?_

"You will never change. You'll always be the same Damon who gets off on torturing innocent people. What was I thinking?"

"You're just now figuring that out? Aww, do you want your money back sweet heart?" he asks, not daring to look in her direction. He knew he couldn't live with her disappointment.

Bonnie doesn't bother trying to convince him again; instead she just exits the car and heads towards the house.

_Fuck. _Damon thinks. _She's upset, and he upset her. He isn't sorry about threatening to kill Jeremy, because most likely this won't be the last time, but he is sorry for how he spoke to her. _

Bonnie is almost at the front door, when Damon uses his supernatural speed, to catch up with her.

"Bonnie, wait. I'm…I apologize if…I'm sorry that I upset you. And that stuff about the hot girls, I just wanted to hurt you."

The witch folds her arms across her body and stares up at him, "Why? I thought we were passed this Damon."

"I don't know, I'm immature. You hurt me, so I wanted to hurt you. It just how I am."

_Gosh, they really are never going to make any real progress_, Bonnie thinks before saying "I need to get back in before they get suspicious."

She starts to walk away, but Damon grabs her arm and pulls her back around until she is pressed against his chest.

"Let me go, I don't want you to touch me right now."

"You let him hold you. Why can't I?" he questions

"He wasn't a complete and total jackass," she answers

"But, I'm sorry," he purrs looking down at her with fire in his eyes.

_Bonnie isn't prepared for him to look at her like that, and she definitely isn't prepared for what the look does to her body. _

"Well, you still ruined Christmas," she says desperately trying to hold on to her anger, but it was so damn hard with him staring at her like that.

"So that's why I got coal in my stocking" he ponders playfully

"If you're not going to take this seriously then- -" Bonnie is cut off by Damon, who presses his lips to hers.

He seizes her face into his cold hands, to ensure that he controls the kiss. His lips move feverishly against hers, sucking and tugging until he was sure her body would obey his every command. His tongue slinks slowly into her mouth, greeting her own with in a warm and wet embrace.

Damon pulls away from her lips, to place a chaste kiss on her forehead, before pulling her back into his arms.

"I'm sorry for ruining Christmas. In fact, I'm so sorry that I will stay here at your little Goonies convention and play nice."

Bonnie eyes him suspiciously, "What about ripping Jeremy's heart out?"

The vampire mulls over the girls words before offering, "I'll only rip his throat out. Scouts honor"

"Bye Damon." She says starting to pull away

"He can survive without a throat. He just won't be able to tell you all of his corny pick-up lines or read you any of his shitty poetry."

"Damon," she says sternly

"Fine, the boy remains intact," _for now _he thinks before continuing, "but if I'm on my best behavior and I have to suffer through Barbie and Ken making out in the chair, and Stefan brooding all over Elena's face, then I want to be rewarded."

"How?" she questions

"Well Bonnie, you're a creative girl, why don't you use your imagination? Better yet why don't we both use our imaginations and see what we can come up with? What I'm thinking of is probably going to involve a maid's costume and some handcuffs"

"I'm not sure if I like where this is headed. Nope, I'm certain. I don't like where this is headed."

"I promise you're going to love where this heads. So much so you'll probably beg me to take you there again" And with that Damon cheerfully opens the door to allow the girl to re-enter the house. He follows behind her, again wishing like hell that her friends would just go home.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. School started back this week and I've been swamped. Anyways, I figured we all needed a little Bamon in our lives after last week's TVD episode. Thank you to everybody who reviews, favorites, & follows the story. I feel really grateful that you guys like my writing. I plan on introducing an antagonist very soon, so stay tuned for that. Happy MLK day to you all! **

**P.S Like A Star by Corinne Bailey Rae definitely feels like a Bamon song, I hope you all agree. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Adorn**

_These lips can't wait to taste your skin_

_And these eyes, yeah, can't wait to see your grin_

_Just let my love_

_Just let my love adorn you_

* * *

"Damon…I think…I think," the girl's words are lost in the moan that erupts from her mouth as the vampire slowly drags his tongue around her navel.

He had been doing this for the past half hour. He'd demanded his reward and for some unknown reason Bonnie just had a hard time saying no to him when his lips were anywhere on her skin.

Damon hikes up her t-shirt just enough so that her whole abdomen is available to him, but not enough so that the delectable mounds residing above her abdomen were. He starts by gently tracing the entire surface area of her stomach with his fingertip. He touches her with a deliberate slowness, before his tongue replaces his finger. Every inch traveled by his fingertip is now revisited with his mouth.

Bonnie squirms underneath his heat.

_She knows that if she does what her body is begging her to do and gives into his touch; she might not be able to deal with the consequences. Not yet any way. They still didn't know exactly what they meant to one another, their relationship was many things, but clearly defined was not one of them. _

Damon starts to edge his way further down past her navel.

_Bonnie thinks that he is probably going to try and remove her pajama bottoms, she is even certain about what will come after she is disrobed. She can't bring herself to stop him, but still she knows that she can't let him. _

"Wait," she breathes placing a hand a firm hand on his shoulder in an effort to cease his movement.

"I would really prefer it if I handled all of the undressing," he says throatily

"No…no undressing, I… we need to talk," she says nervously as she tries to put the images of an undressed Damon out of her mind. Things such as that would only serve to further weaken her resolve.

Bonnie doesn't give him a chance to protest her words; instead she pulls her shirt down and climbs off of the bed.

Damon pinches the bridge of his nose before turning to face her.

"Talk," he says in a tone of annoyance.

"Okay, okay good. I don't think we should have sex," she blurts

He furrows his brow and replies, "Excusez-Moi?"

"I don't want to have sex with you, at least not yet and I know that you're probably used to girls just giving it away anytime you grin at them. But that's not me and that's not…that not what I think we should be doing or it's what I think we should not be doing," she rambles

Bonnie is obviously embarrassed about having this conversation. She won't even look the vampire in the eyes when she confesses her feelings. Instead of making her feel better about the situation, he begins to laugh hysterically.

"What's so funny Damon?" she asks defensively.

"Who said anything about sex?" he takes a break from his laughter to question

_Now, Bonnie is really embarrassed. Yes, she was a virgin, but she was pretty sure that all of those moves Damon was unleashing on her while they were in bed could only lead to one thing. Did she miss something? _

Embarrassed, insecure, and hungry she turns to leave the room, hopefully a large plate of waffles would comfort her since the clearly the vampire wasn't up to the task.

Damon is quicker though and he beats her to the door, blocking her only escape route.

"Bonnie," he says dragging out her name

"Yes, Damon," she answers curtly

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get breakfast. What does it look like?"

He crosses he arms and surveys the girl before saying, "It looks like you're upset because I wasn't trying to have sex with you."

"I'm not upset. I don't care. And if you remember it was _me _who told _you _that_ I_ didn't want to have sex first."

"Yea, but only because you knew I didn't want to."

_She didn't feel like this. She just wants breakfast. Was that too much to ask?_

"Ugh, what is it with you and trapping me in places?" the exasperated girl says as she turns around to sit back on her bed.

"I like seeing you get all frazzled like a little bird," he smirks

"You're comparing me to an animal? Oh wow so very sexy," she says sarcastically

"I wasn't going for sexy, I was going for accurate. But I can do both if you like."

"No, Damon. I _would_ like for you to let me out of my room so that I can have breakfast."

"You're the one who said that you wanted to talk."

"Well, now I want to eat."

"Too bad for you, because now I want to talk."

"Oh what are you going to do, compare me to more animals?"

"Ha-ha, no. I think that as a gentleman it's time that I outlined exactly what my intentions are with you," he says with a surprising seriousness

Now it was Bonnie's turn to laugh hysterically and she did for a very long time.

"Are you done?" he questions after awhile

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was just trying to wrap my head around your statement," she admits

"I want to wrap my…nope never mind," he says before pausing. _He needs to be sincere when he tells her what he is feeling, and he is sure that prefacing his words with a sexual innuendo will win him no points_. "You thought that I was trying to take this, whatever this is, somewhere that you weren't ready for. I just want to say that, I know…I know that you're not just some girl to hook up with. I know that you're special."

Bonnie stares unblinkingly at him, to make sure that she heard him right.

Minutes pass and she still hasn't said anything to Damon's admission, he is starting to get frustrated.

"Well say something," he demands

"I don't know what to say, this is so very unlike you."

"I mean, there is more to me than pretty face and a six pack of abs Bonnie," he smirks

"You couldn't be sweet for one moment longer? Really? Would it have killed you?"

Damon pushes off of the door and walks over to the girl. He grabs her off the bed so that she is pressed tightly against his chest. Her green eyes look questioningly at him, but his eyes offer nothing in return. Instead he starts to kiss at the base of her throat. He places her smooth neck into the palm of his hand, softly caressing her cheek on the way. Before she knows it, he is creating trail of kisses that stops at her mouth, where he lays three quick pecks upon her lips.

When he is done he lingers by her ear to whisper, "Why would I be sweet, when you like it so much when I'm bad?"

It takes her a minute to recover from the feel of his kisses, his tongue, and his breath against her ear lobe, when she does she pushes him back a bit.

"None of that, when we are in the middle of a discussion sir," she means to sound stern, but she knows that she most likely just sounds seduced, and she was.

"Fine, but as long as were having an open discussion then let's talk about you not letting Jeremy touch you with his hands or any other body part that he doesn't want savagely torn off," Damon says as he sits in the girl's desk chair while she returns to her spot on the bed.

"How about we talk about something else?" she counters. She is definitely not ready to talk about Jeremy with the vampire, fearing for the boy's life.

"No. Bonnie, you can't expect me to not want to kill Jeremy, when you let him hold you, touch you, or do anything directed towards you."

"Overreacting a bit much, aren't you?"

"Would you like it if I went around doting on Elena?"

_Why did he have to bring her up, when they were doing so good?_ Bonnie thinks before saying,"When did you stop?"

_Damon is agitated. He can't kiss her and he can't kill Jeremy. What did she want from him?_

"I don't know maybe around the time that you molested me in an alleyway. Or was it when you assaulted me with your mouth in the living room?" he says sharply

"I'm not having this conversation with you," she replies before crossing her arms in defiance.

"Yes, you are. You don't want me to kill Jeremy, then tell him to stop doing things that are going to make me want to kill him. That includes breathing," Damon demands

"I don't want you to kill Jeremy because that's the decent thing to do. To not just go around killing people for the hell of it." She shouts

"No, I would kill Jeremy because he is the idiot asshole who thinks that it's okay to make googly eyes at my girl!" he shouts louder

_Bonnie hears all of his words, but she really hears his last two._

"Your girl?" she questions softly.

"Come on, you know that your my girl," he replies in a tone that is equally as soft.

She can't help herself, as soon as he finishes his sentence she runs over to his lap and hops on, draping her arms around his neck.

_Sweet Damon was the best Damon. Sure, bad Damon was hot, but sweet Damon understood her. _

"So this is official?" she questions

"Duh, I deleted my eHarmony profile like a week ago," he replies as he begins to stroke her chocolate tresses.

"But we still aren't telling anybody?"

"Not unless you want to invite your nosey little friends into this."

"No, you're right. But I'm going to have to tell them that I'm at least seeing somebody."

"Why?"

"Jeremy needs to know that I'm off the market so that he can continue living."

"Yea, and while you're at it you should also tell him how devastatingly handsome your boyfriend is," he smirks

"Meh, I mean he's alright," she says as though she is unimpressed by Damon's attractiveness.

"_Alright_? _Alright_? I'll show you _Alright_," he challenges.

With that he lifts her up and carries her to the bed where he roughly deposits her. He joins her on the bed, kneeling in between her legs, before lowering himself down. This time there would be no trail of kisses, no slow or soft movements. This time, Damon grabs her chin so that her lips crash against his. This time his tongue didn't ask for an invitation to enter her mouth, it just darts in and began to devour hers.

_She knew that her lips where going to be sore and swollen after their kissing session, but she didn't mind, in fact she looked forward to it. She was his and he was hers and that's all that mattered. Or at least it was until she heard a voice from down stairs say_, "Bonnie, honey, I'm home."

* * *

**Hey guys, I wrote this chapter because I knew we all were gonna need a Bamon fix after tonight's episode. I hope you all like it! Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows, you guys are awesome!. If you have some Bamon ff, I would love to read it! Just suggest it to me in a pm or a review. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Is This Love?**

_I wanna love you, I want to love and treat you right;_

_I wanna love you every day and every night:_

_We'll be together, with a roof over our heads;_

_To share the shelter in a single bed;_

_Is this love - is this love - is this love -_

_Is this love that I'm feelin'?_

* * *

Before Damon has time to question the girl about the voice coming from downstairs, she throws him onto the floor as she runs to the mirror to brush her tangled locks into a neat ponytail.

"Ouch," the vampire says grumpily as he eases himself up from the floor, "not gonna pretend like that didn't hurt."

"Will you lower your voice? We have bigger things to worry about besides your bruised ego," Bonnie says as she begins to reapply her lip gloss.

"Like the fact that you're playing hard to get even though you know it turns me on?" Damon says in a low voice as he walks up behind the girl to drape his arms around her waist, resting his chin in the nape of her neck.

_Why does he insist on doing this right now and why can't she resist him?_

Bonnie puts down the lip gloss and sighs heavily as she falls back into Damon's cold embrace.

"Damon…" she begins unsure of herself

"Yes?" he questions

"My dad is downstairs. And I am so happy that he's here, I missed him so much. But since he _is _here that means that- -" she trails off

Damon remains quiet waiting for her to finish.

"It means that I guess this bubble that we've been living in is over. You'll have to go back to the manor and I'll be here. We won't ever get to see each other and it…it just won't be like this."

"What are you talking about silly little girl?"

"Forget it," she says with a sudden sharpness in her tone before attempting to free herself from the vampire's hold.

"Stop," he says in a commanding voice that ceases her movements, "I know it was difficult for you to admit that you like having me around. I like being around. And I don't plan on going anywhere, especially not before I get to see you naked. I just don't see how your dad being home is that big of a deal."

"It's a big deal because he is going to flip if he realizes that not only have I been sleeping next to some creepy old guy every night, but that that guy is really a vampire. He'll probably disown me."

"He would not…would he?"

"He hates vampires; he hates how they terrorized this town."

"So he'd definitely hate me then?" Damon questions quietly as he furrows his brow

"Very much so" she replies

"Now aren't you the least bit disappointed that you didn't choose Saint Stefan?" he says dryly

Bonnie turns around in his arms, so that she is now facing him, his bright blue orbs beaming down on her. "It wasn't a choice. Stefan was never even an option," she consoles him.

_Something about his vulnerability, his doubt, his reluctance to abandon her, does things to Bonnie. _

She kisses him, she couldn't help it. Her lips meet his and it's long, hard, and fiery, everything but soft.

"Honey, are you upstairs?" her dad's nearing voice immediately stops their kiss.

Several things happen all at once, so it's hard for the witch to adjust. The first being that Damon removes himself from their embrace. When she blinks her eyes, he isn't even in the room anymore. Next her father knocks twice on her bedroom door before entering. She is sure that she has whiplash from the hurriedness of the events.

"Dad," she greets him with a hesitant smile as he walks further into her room.

"Hi, honey. Didn't you hear me calling you from downstairs?" he asks

"Umm nope, I had my headphones on. You know teens and their loud music," she lies

"Yeah. Well don't stand all the way over there come on and give your pops a hug."

Bonnie goes over to her dad and offers him a quick hug. Looking through the corner of her eye she spots Damon's overnight bag that he had been living out of since he'd moved in.

_Damn. Damn. Damn. If her dad sees the bag he would surely know something was up. She must distract. Must. Distract. _

She pulls away from their hug to say, "Dad I'm sure you must be beat with all that traveling and whatnot, and I have a book report due when I go back to school so…" _hopefully he gets the hint._

Her father looks at her like he wants to question her words, but decides against it.

"Yea you're right. I think some sleep will do your old man some good, but let's have dinner tonight at the Grill."

"Sure thing pops."

He looks at her a moment longer, before leaving her room and walking down the hall.

Bonnie presses her head against her cold door and shuts her eyes. She needs to think.

Unfortunately for her as soon as she begins her meditation, her M.I.A vampire resurfaces.

"Are you performing some witchy ju ju to keep your dad from interrupting us?" he asks as he swings his legs across the windowsill.

"No, I'm thinking. You should try it sometime," Bonnie says opening her eyes and getting off of the door.

"Oh what are you thinking about? Let me guess. Perhaps you're imagining me naked, maybe with some whipped cream covering my…" Damon can't finish his sentence before Bonnie irrupts him.

"Must we revert back to your lame sex jokes every time a crisis arises?"

"If you had of let me finish my sentence, I was going to say my bowl of ice cream. I was going to have whipped cream on my ice cream for dessert."

"Yea, I bet you were."

Bonnie grabs Damon's bag and throws it to him. He catches it without even looking.

"Thanks to you and your man purse, we almost got caught," she chides

"We didn't almost get caught."

"Oh and how was I supposed to explain why I had a bag filled with men's clothes just hanging around my bedroom?"

"You could always tell your dad about your super-hot live-in boyfriend," he offers

"I don't know him, but I do know my super-pain-in-the-ass boyfriend," she counters

"We do need to figure something out, I can't crawl into your window every night _Bella_."

"And here I thought you couldn't possibly get any creepier."

Bonnie flounces on top of her bed, and Damon joins her.

"So since your dad is sleep does that mean that we can pick up where we left off?" he says seductively as he trails his finger up and down her thigh.

_His voice coupled with the move gives Bonnie goose bumps. She ignores them._

"No, it means that you probably need to leave," she says as she squats his hand away

"And go where?"

"Home, Damon. We already discussed how horrible it would be if my dad ever caught us."

"That depends on what he caught us doing," he smirks

"Bye Damon," she says as she rolls her eyes

"Fine, but I'm going to be back tonight so you better leave your window unlocked."

"And if I don't?" she questions

"If you don't then I will just knock on your front door and I ask to speak to my girlfriend."

Damon grabs his duffle bag and throws it onto the roof.

"You wouldn't dare!" Bonnie challenges

"I guess you will just have to wait and see," he says climbing out of the window

"Damon!" Bonnie yells rushing to the window behind him, but the vampire is already in his car.

* * *

"So the prodigal son returns," Stefan says as he opens the door for his brother

"Well the witch no longer required my services, so I thought I would come grace the peasants with my presence." Damon says walking into the room and dropping his bag onto the hardwood floor.

"How kind of you," Stefan says sarcastically.

Damon walks over to the bar to pour himself a drink, as he examines the room, "You know I do have my philanthropic days. Are you and the _missus_ in a fight? Did you forget to take out the trash or were you using her eyeliner to darken your eyebrows again? "

"No, we're not fighting. Why would you think that?" he questions

"Because she isn't surgically attached to your hip as always."

"She'll actually be by later," the younger brother replies with a grin

"Great. Just let me know when so that I can make myself scarce."

"You don't have to do that Damon. Elena and I both care about you. We just don't want you to feel like you need to avoid us. "

"As much as I would love to stand here and talk about your boring relationship, I need go splash some water on my face. I was falling asleep," with that the vampire drinks the remnants of the amber liquid in his glass before heading upstairs.

When he gets to his room, it feels empty, like something is missing. He checks to make sure everything is in its place, and it is, but still something is off. Then it hits him. Bonnie isn't here.

He digs in his back pocket to retrieve his phone, in an instant the line is trilling.

_Hello_

**What are you wearing?**

_Umm I don't know the same thing that I was wearing when you left 30 minutes ago._

**So you've been counting the minutes since I've been away?**

_More like counting the seconds of peace and quiet that I am afforded in your absence._

**Admit it judgey, you miss me.**

_Hmmm miss is such a strong word._

**You crave me. You need me. Shall I go on?**

_I tolerate you_

**If you keep playing hard to get, I'm just going to hop in my car and torture the truth out of you.**

_And how to you plan on doing that_

**I have my ways**

_Down boy, maybe a cold shower or two could help_

**Only if you join**

_I wonder if your sleazy pickup lines actually work on living girls_

**They worked on you**

_I wouldn't be so quick to jump to that conclusion. You still haven't seen me naked yet remember_

**You're talking about being naked and showers? Hold on, I'm on my way**

_I have to get dressed for dinner with my dad_

**Can I watch?**

_Goodbye creepy old guy_

**Yea, creepy old guy that you love**

_…_

**Bonnie? I didn't mean that…I meant that **

_No…it's…I know what you meant, but I have to go. Bye. _

**Bye.**

_What was that? Why the hell did he mention the "L word"? He'd only ever told two girls that he loved them before and neither girl wanted his love. It's not like he told Bonnie that he loved her. But he did say that she loved him. Too soon, way too soon to be even mentioning love. He loved Scotch, he loved Bourbon, sometimes he even loved his brother, but did he love Bonnie? And why did she act so weird about the whole thing. Was it weird for her too? Was it weird because she didn't love him? _

"Stefan, get your coat, we're off to do some brotherly bonding at the Grill," Damon calls from upstairs.

* * *

As soon as he enters the restaurant he spies his witch seated alone in the same booth that he saw her in on the night of their first kiss. Her dad is busy at the bar ordering drinks.

"Stefan, why don't you go bore Bonnie's dad with the details of your hair regimen. I'm sure he'd love to know how much gel it takes to get your hair that high," Damon instructions

"Why would I do that?"

"Because _Stefan _I need to discuss something with the witch."

"What?" he questions

"I left something at her place and I just want to see if she has it. So scurry along and I promise when I'm done we can go get you a coloring book or something."

Stefan does as his brother asks and walks over to Bonnie's dad. Damon waits until the vampire and the man are fully enthralled in their conversation before he joins the witch in the booth.

"Hey, _Bonnie_" he says as he slides in.

"Damon what are you doing, my dad is over there," she whispers

"Don't worry Stefan is talking to him about his hair and that could take hours, so you and I can have a little chat."

"I don't have time for this."

"I think you should make the time."

"Damon," she warns

"Bonnie," he replies not backing off

The witch can see the resolve in his eyes and so she acquiesces.

"Not here," she says finally

"Fine."

Bonnie gets out of the booth, Damon follows until they are hidden in _their _alleyway.

"What Damon," she says crossing her arms

"Feeling like déjà vu huh?"

"My dad is waiting, can we not play games? Just spit out whatever it is that you need to say."

_She's definitely not going to let him dance around this. _

"I said that you loved me and you didn't say anything," he states in a hurried tone.

"What did you want me to say?" she ask looking down at his chest.

"Don't mean to be captain obvious, but…" he says

"You want me to say that I love you?" she questions

"No." _Yes!_

"Then what Damon?"

"Say what you feel."

"You say what you feel, and maybe it will stir me into action."

_Why does she make everything so damn difficult?_

"Fine. I love you."

_As soon as the words come out, Damon is relieved. But the relief soon morphs into fear. What if she doesn't say it back? Then it would be three girls who could never love him._

"I love you too," she replies quietly

"Then why didn't you say it earlier?" he demands to know as relief again floods his body.

"Because I was afraid that you didn't…that you were still hung up on Elena."

"I'm not." He replies genuinely

"Okay," she says simply

"You don't believe me?"

"Damon, you've been in love with two girls in your entire existence and they both look exactly the same. What do you expect me to believe?"

"Believe this."

Bonnie raises a questioning eyebrow, but Damon ignores it as he softly pushes her onto the brick wall. Eyes searching eyes. Emerald versus blue. Her heart begins to beat rapidly, she knows what is coming. Damon gently unfolds her arms so that they are now dangling at her side. He places her face into his hands. He leans down so that his face is lingering over hers, barely touching. She can already taste his cool breath in her mouth. She licks her lips involuntarily at the thought. Then Damon does something that she definitely isn't expecting, he also licks her lips. His tongue slowly travels across her top lip, then her bottom. When he is done, he presses his mouth to hers. He gradually sinks into her. His lips move in an unhurried tempo, slowly and seductively proving his point to Bonnie. He slides his tongue into her mouth meeting her own. They twist and curve around one another, she wants to explode from the sensation. Damon moves one of the hands that was holding her in place. Soon it reappears near the hem of her shirt. His cool hand treks up her stomach until it has found its way inside of her bra. He firmly caresses her naked breast as he abandons her mouth to begin lavishing her throat with wet kisses.

_Bonnie thought that their entangled tongues would be her undoing, but she was certain that it was currently happening. His hands, his mouth, his tongue, his touch, his scent, his words all were crashing against her, one after the other. She knew after tonight nothing would be the same, she knew that after tonight she would no longer be able to just walk away. He would truly be hers and she would absolutely be his. _

"Damon. Stop." she says huskily as she pushes him away

He stops immediately fearing that in that attempt to prove his love, he'd pushed her too far. He stands back and removes his hands from her body.

She instantly misses the contact.

"Did I go too far?" he means to sound concerned and he does, but the desire in his voice still surfaces.

"No. No. It's just that my dad is in there waiting for me so…"

"Yea, I understand," he says even though his tone contradicts his words.

"But tonight…"

"Tonight?" he questions

"I'll see you later tonight," she replies before placing a quick peck on his cheek and heading back into the restaurant.

* * *

**Hey guys! Thanks for your reviews, favorites, & follows! I love getting those in my inbox they are definitely the best part of my week. So yea Bonnie was really awesome on TVD last night. Maybe this means we will finally get to see more of her. Anyways, so the next chapter is going to be their first time, I'm nervous to write it, but really excited for you all to read it. If you have any suggestions for how you think it should go down pm me or comment, I'd love you guys opinion on this! As always sorry for my shitty grammar :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Till Kingdom Come**

_Steal my heart and hold my tongue_

_I feel my time, my time has come_

_Let me in, unlock the door_

_I never felt this way before_

**Disclaimer: This chapter is rated M for Massive amounts of Bamon sexytimes!**

* * *

Bonnie paces around her room. Backwards and forward. Backwards and forward.

_Was she really going to go through with this? Was she really ready to lose her virginity? And to Damon Salvatore of all people. Of course she loved Damon. But it had gotten to be more than that. She longed for his touch, his presence, his everything. Her heart knew that she wanted her first time to be with someone she truly cared for, it's just that her mind was having a hard time playing catch up. _

The witch is still pacing when Damon climbs into her room, going unnoticed by the girl until he speaks.

"Hi," he says in an unidentifiable tone.

"Hey," she replies back stopping in mid-pace, "Damon I…"

"I know what you're going to say," the vampire responds before she can even finish her sentence

"How do you know what I'm going to say? Have you been reading minds Edward?" hoping to make light of the situation

"You're going to say that you're not ready. Look at you. You're pacing, and fidgeting, and all kinds of nervous," he says standing from his seat on the windowsill and walking over to Bonnie placing a firm grip on her folded arms, "You don't have…I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything that you're not ready for."

"It's not that I'm not ready or that I don't want to…it just that I…"

"Hey, come here," he says as he quietly pulls her into his arms, softly stroking her brown locks.

Bonnie falls into his embrace. She wraps her arm around his waist and rests her head on his chest.

"I will wait for you Bonnie, if that's what you need then I will wait," he says into her hair

The girl removes her head from his chest in order to meet his eyes. She stares intensely into them. They show her his soul. They show her that no matter what happens tonight, he is now and will most likely always be a permanent fixture in her life. Most importantly, they show her love.

"No. I want to. I'm ready." _And she is._

"Bonnie…"

"Damon, I'm ready. I want to be truly yours."

"You are truly mine."

"In all ways."

"You are truly mine in every way that matters."

"I'm ready Damon. I was just nervous before…scared, but now I know that this is what I want. I want my first time to be with you."

"And it will be, but it doesn't have to be tonight."

"I know it doesn't have to be tonight. But I want it to be."

Damon furrows his brow and stares intently at her for some while, hoping to gauge the sincerity of her words.

Finally he simply says, "Okay."

Bonnie waits for more, but when it doesn't come she replies with, "Okay? Just okay?"

"Yes, okay."

"Well how does this usually work, do I take off my clothes now or do you do that? Like what's the customary way to go about this?"

"I'm not going to let you lose your virginity on a twin bed while your father is watching Sports Center in the living room."

"Then where? The boardinghouse?"

"And have Stefan eavesdropping hoping to learn some of my sweet moves, no thanks."

Bonnie blushes before saying, "Okay, unless you have some secret stash of residential properties that I am not aware of, then what other choice do we have?"

"Need you not worry. I have everything under control."

"Damon, I definitely don't want to lose my virginity in the back seat of your car."

"Ye have little faith. Besides I wouldn't want to get stains on the upholstery."

"Fine. I give up."

"Don't give up, just get dressed and meet me downstairs."

"If I don't know where _we are going_, how am I supposed to know how to dress?"

"Be creative," he tells her, placing a sweet peck onto her forehead before once again departing from the window.

* * *

Damon sits on the hood of his car waiting for his witch to exit the house.

_He had been thinking about his moment since their first kiss, but if she had of offered him her gift then he wouldn't have truly appreciated it. But he certainly does now. He understands how hard it is for her to trust him with her body, with her heart. He so desperately wants to honor that trust, more than that he wants to deserve it. _

Bonnie walks out of the front door smartly clad in a snug black lace cocktail dress and outfitted with red pumps. Her hair falls in chocolate waves around her shoulders.

Damon looks up to see her trotting towards him, her eyes locked onto the cement underneath her feet as if she was unsure about her appearance.

"Stop," he says in the same commanding tone from earlier. And just as before she immediately halts her movements.

He walks over to her, his eyes drinking her in as if he'd gone years without anything to quench his thirst. When he finally reaches her, he continues his staring.

"Damon, are we going to go or are you just going to keep gawking at me? I do own other dresses you know. If you don't like this one I can go change."

"Bonnie, if you left my sight right now, I would probably destroy anything that impeded my view of you. _Anything_." he informs

"What?"

"You look…so gorgeous. I don't even know if that word does you justice. A thesaurus filled with similar words to all describe how stunning you look, wouldn't even be enough. I am rendered speechless and breathless by your beauty."

"So after all of this time of you being a talkative asshole, you mean to tell me all I had to do to shut you up was to put on a dress and some heels?"

"Oh Bonnie that is not just some dress and those are definitely not just some heels."

"You're making me blush."

"We need to go. Now," he says grabbing her hand and pulling her to the car.

Once they are both in the vehicle, Damon proceeds to drive like a bat out of hell.

"Whoa cowboy, what's the rush?" Bonnie comments at the pace of his driving

"If I don't have you out of that dress within the hour, I think I will explode," he tells her truthfully.

The couple is quiet for the remainder of the ride, which isn't very long thanks to Damon's driving.

When they arrive to their destination Bonnie is less than impressed, but she tries to keep an open mind. From what she can tell, the site would be best described as a dilapidated barn in the middle of nowhere. And this was preferable to her bed? Or his?

Damon walks around to open her door. He can deduce from the look on her face that she doesn't like the place of his choosing.

"Don't be so quick to judge it, or I might have to start referring to you as your old nick name again," he whispers to her as he takes her hand to leading her to the barn.

"That was never my nick name and I'm not judging it, I'm just skeptical that it will prove to be any more than an old barn."

Damon waits until they reach the doors to speak again, "Bonnie, when will you learn to never to underestimate me?"

As soon as he finishes his question, he pushes the doors open with force for effect. Bonnie is shocked, to say the least, by what she finds.

The room is lined with long white candles on every stable surface, while clear Christmas lights dangle from the ceiling. In one corner of the room there is a thick plaid blanket with oversized throw pillows splayed across. Right next to the sit-up is a large wicker picnic basket. In the nearest corner stood small wooden table which held Damon's iPod dock that quietly streamed the sounds of Coldplay. Two long stemmed wine glasses, and an expensive bottle of Chardonnay accompanied the dock on the table. While all of these things were impressive, nothing took Bonnie's breath away like the large king sized bed draped in dark silk sheets that stood in the middle of the room.

_Now she was the one who was breathless and speechless._

Damon closes the doors shut behind her and walks over to open the wine, while Bonnie is still preoccupied with examining the room. He pours until both glasses are filled mid-way, before walking over to the girl and offering her the alcohol. Which she accepts, but eyes suspiciously.

"I don't know if I'm up to drinking, the last time I did, I woke up with a vampire next to my bed."

"Well, this time you're probably going to wake up to a vampire in your bed," he counters sipping his wine.

"This is beautiful," she says referring to their surroundings

"I told you I would handle it," he teases

"Yea, but given your track record with handling things, I had cause to doubt."

"Speaking of things that need to be handle…" he trails off as he walks towards her and kisses her deliberately and tenderly.

After he breaks their kiss, he drains his glass before placing it down. He takes her untouched drink and puts it down as well.

"What are you doing?" she questions

"_We are_ dancing."

Damon pulls Bonnie into his arms, his hands running greedily up and down her curves looking for the perfect resting spot. She wraps her arms around his neck, as she allows her own hands to run greedily through his ink black locks.

_And the wheels just keep on turning_

_The drummer begins to drum_

_I don't know which way I'm going_

_I don't know which way I've come_

"So this is how you built such a reputation with the ladies, you take them to a barn that serves a metaphor for yourself?"

"How do you mean?" he inquires

"If someone judges you based on how you appear and how you act, and the ridiculously homicidal things you say, then they never get inside of the barn. They never get to see all of the lights and the expensive wine."

"I don't do this for other girls, I did this for you. Only you Bonnie."

"Not even for Elena?" she asks, doubtful of his previous statement

"Only for you," he reiterates

_Hold my head inside your hands_

_I need someone who understands_

_I need someone, someone who hears_

_For you I've waited all these years_

"It's really...it's perfect. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I mean the most Jeremy and I ever did was go to the Grill and head back to his house to make out."

"You get upset when I say "ridiculously homicidal things" but then you tell me things that provoke my homicidal thoughts."

"Sorry."

"And I know it's selfish, but I'm glad he didn't do things like this for you. I want to be your first in more ways than one."

_She doesn't know how to respond to his statement. She doesn't know how to respond to any of it. Damon had been so bad for so long and for so long she had mistakenly thought that that was all there was to him. He was so much more. This was the first time that she truly felt that she deserved her nick name that he bestowed her. She'd been so quick to judge him that she'd missed getting to see the person he was underneath his dark disguise. _

Damon eyed her curiously, but Bonnie didn't have the right words to convey everything that was going on inside of her head at the moment. Still she knew she had to express herself in some way, so she kissed him. The kissed started gently, but it grew more and more intense as each tried their hardest to share their feelings with the other.

_For you, I'd wait till kingdom come_

_Until my day, my day's done_

_And say, you'll come and set me free_

_Just say, you'll wait, you'll wait for me_

He moved his hands that were resting on her hips to her jawline. Holding her face in between his palms as his tongue entered her mouth. He began to massage her tongue with his own, while Bonnie tightened the hold she had around his neck in an effort to bring him closer. She could feel his erection nudging her stomach. They stood locked in their embrace for some time, lavishing one another with hot and wet kisses. Soon though, Bonnie ended the make-out session. She licked her now swollen lips before breathlessly saying, "Damon, I'm ready."

That was all he need to hear. He immediately started to undo the buttons of his shirt, before Bonnie brought her hand to his to stop the action.

"Let me…I want to do that," she said softly

He dropped his hands to his side and she picked up where he left off. Granted her fingers did not move as quickly as his, still he was preferring her hands to his own.

When she is done unbuttoning his shirt, she slides it off of his shoulders until it meets the ground. Bonnie is faced with the milky perfection of Damon's bare torso. Before she knows it she finds herself marking the entire surface area of his chest with her kisses.

After the kisses stop she straightens herself back up so that she is once again admiring his flawlessness.

"My turn," Damon orders with hunger seeping through his voice.

He playfully turns the girl around so that she is facing away from him. Damon leans down and drags a finger up the length of her body until he reaches the silver zipper on the back of the dress. He pulls it down slowly as if he is unwrapping a gift that he wants to take his precious time with, and he was.

Bonnie's dress pools around her feet, revealing black lingerie, but Damon takes her hand to help her step out of it. He grabs the dress from the floor and folds it gingerly before placing it on top of one of the throw pillows.

When he returns to her he once again takes her hand, this time it is to twirl her around so that he is offered a view of her body from every angle.

"Bonnie, you are exquisite," he tells her as he continues to examine her form

"Mr. Salvatore you're still dressed," she teases

"I suppose I am. What do you suggest we do about that Ms. Bennett?" he says playing along

Bonnie doesn't answer him, instead she kneels down and undoes his belt buckle before unbuttoning his jeans. She tugs them until they are around his ankles. Damon removes his boots and shrugs the rest of the way out of his jeans.

They stand in front of one another exposed. Damon, in his briefs and Bonnie in her bra and panties.

Damon drags his briefs down revealing his large erection to the girl. Bonnie follows suit and divests herself of her bra, panties, and pumps.

"You could have left the shoes on."

"You're lucky I even wore them in the first place."

He heads to the bed and pulls back the sheets, before walking over to the girl.

"We'll just leave them on next time," smirks

"Who says that there is going to be a next time?"

"My sexual prowess guarantees a repeat performance."

"I'm not sure, so far I've been underwhelmed."

"You love taunting me don't you?"

"I call it being honest."

"You're naked, but I'm using my mouth for something other than kissing you. I don't like it."

"It's foreplay"

"But my foreplay is so much better when I use my mouth and my tongue instead of my words."

Before Bonnie can respond, Damon picks her up and pulls her into his naked arms. He carries her to the bed and places her down softly on top of the silk sheets.

Damon joins her on the bed, placing himself above her and wrapping the sheets around their now entangled bodies.

"Do you still want this?" he questions

_In your tears and in your blood_

_In your fire and in your flood_

_I hear you laugh, I heard you sing_

_I wouldn't change a single thing_

She nods her head in response, pulling his face down into a kiss. They kiss unhurriedly, relishing each movement of tongue and lip. Damon leaves her lips and starts to devour her slender neck with his mouth. Bonnie moans at the touch, curling her fingers into his hair. After a lengthy post at her throat he travels down until he meets her breasts. He uses his tongue to encircle her nipple, before gently tugging and pulling until the girl erupted in ecstasy. He then moves momentarily to the other one presenting it with the same treatment. Damon travels between the two, offering an intoxicating combination of sucking and pulling. He breaks from his recently established routine in order to lock eyes with the waiting girl.

Believing that he needs further confirmation that this is what she truly wants, she nods her head once more. With that he slowly enters her, Bonnie gasps at the sensation. Before she can completely register the feeling, he pulls out of her at the same pace. Just as Damon begins to re-enter her, she meets him with her hips.

Once he had established a measured tempo, he returned to her mouth. Each moaning into a sinuous kiss.

Damon wanted to shiver at the way the girl tightened around him, at the way he filled her. It could only be described as excruciatingly good.

Bonnie felt like her body was a bundle of nerves. Everywhere that Damon touched or left a lingering finger explodes in scorching sensation. At first she will admit, it was painful and foreign, but each stroke, each skillful movement left her craving more.

A thin layer of sweat coats the both of them as Damon quickens the pace, causing the girl to yell out in pleasure. The quicker he moves, the more his mouth sucks at her hardened nipple, where it has found a home, the surer she is that she is going to shatter blissfully. She feels as though she is floating above their entwined bodies, but she hears Damon urging her to let go.

Finally she does, and he joins her, both erupting in a ferocious passion. Damon eagerly kisses her lips once more, before collapsing on the side of her and pulling her into his arms.

She lays her head on his chest as she catches her breath.

"Ms. Bennett. That was exceptional."

"You weren't so bad yourself Mr. Salvatore," she grins

"No so bad? You're talking to the most valuable player here."

"I thought that I was the MVP," she says seductively

"You're right. I relinquish my title," he says offering her a quick peck

"So I'm ready to grant you a repeat performance"

"I would love to take you up on the offer, but you need to rest."

"I'm not tired."

"Yes, you are and you'll probably be sore."

"I'm fine Damon."

"Okay, well I'm tired. I need beauty sleep, and you are the lucky girl who gets to join me while I get it."

"Damon."

"No arguing, just sleeping," he says closing his eyes and pulling her closer.

Bonnie drifts off entangled in her lover's grasp.

_The wheels just keep on turning,_

_The drummers begin to drum,_

_I don't know which way I'm going,_

_I don't know what I've become._

_For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,_

_Until my days, my days are done._

_Say you'll come and set me free,_

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

_Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me._

* * *

**A/N: So I'm nervous to let you all read this, because this is my first attempt at smut I guess. But you guys are really amazing and you deserve this chapter. Thanks for your support with this story, you all inspire to keep writing! I want to especially thank the guest who suggested that Bonnie and Damon should have a special place to go to in this chapter. The Bamon scenes in tonight's TVD weren't that great, but at least they had scenes together! Anyways comment, follow, favorite, let me hear from you! I love interacting with you guys and I need to know if my writing scared you away lol. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Welcome Home**

_When all I ever needed_

_Was a good man_

_A lover and a best friend_

_Someone to forgive me when I'm so wrong_

_And remind me what welcome home_

* * *

It had been over a month. A month since they had said I love you. A month since Bonnie had given herself over completely to Damon. The happiest month of her existence.

Everything was great for her, her dad was home, her friends were happy, for the most part, and she had even received early admission to a few colleges.

All of these things blended to produce an amazingly cheerful Bonnie. She was even excited about Elena's pre-Valentine's Day dinner, which she would normally dread. Sure she couldn't talk to Damon or touch him when her friends were around, but even that was a little exciting. She loved their stolen glances and any contact they could secretly manage. Which served as sweet tease of what was to come later, when they could finally be alone.

Bonnie rings her best friend's doorbell, from the lack of available parking around the house the witch must be the last to arrive.

The door opens and it's Damon who answers it. He smiles seductively at her as he examines her ensemble as if he is committing it to memory. Soon however his smile leaves and his mask of indifference is put perfectly in place.

"Who invited the witch?" he asks, spitting out the last word.

"Who invited the drunk dead guy?" she counters with an eye roll.

"I invited you both. Now Damon please move out of the way and let Bonnie in," Elena says joining them at the door.

Damon takes his time opening the door, so that Elena is already headed back towards the kitchen as Bonnie enters the house. He takes this brief moment to hold her gaze, but he wants to hold more. So much more.

"Finally Bonnie. What took you so long," Caroline says coming in and interrupting them.

"My dad was going to eat a can of beans if I didn't whip him up something before I left," the witch replies.

"Okay, well I have some great news for you."

"What?"

"Damon, don't you have a bottle to go crawl under?" Caroline asks obviously not wanting the vampire to hear their conversation.

"You know what. Actually I do," he says leaving the girls alone with Bonnie watching his exit.

"Anyways, as head of the dance committee, I plan on using my executive powers to secure you a proper date to the Valentine's Day Dance," the blonde says with a wide grin obviously proud of what she'd accomplished.

"Oh, Care, I wasn't planning on going to the dance."

_And she wasn't. Even though Damon had yet to ask her to be his Valentine, she wasn't bothered by it, because she knew that they were worth so much more to one another than a cheesy card and a stale box of chocolate. Still, she couldn't think of a better way to spend the day than with Damon. _

"What do you mean you're not going to the dance?" Caroline says shocked by her friend's statement

"I'm not going to the dance. You know that I've been seeing someone, so he and I were just going to hang out I guess."

"Hang out? You're going to spend the most romantic day of the year hanging out?"

"Yes, Care. It's not about what you do, but who you do it with."

"Did you read that on a Hallmark card? Or is it from a lifetime move, because that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. My best friend will not be spending Valentine's day just hanging out"

"It's okay, really. It's what I want.'

Caroline eyes her suspiciously, but doesn't get a chance to question her before Elena walks in and announces that it's time for dinner.

When Bonnie gets to the table she fidgets with her phone to try and stall so that she could sit next to Damon, but he is nowhere to be found. So she ends up in between Jeremy and Caroline. _Oh joy._

Finally, Damon shows up and he is seated across from her, but right next to Elena.

After they all have finished eating, they sit around the table and have conversations with whoever they are closest to, right now unfortunately for Bonnie, that's Caroline.

"Elena, will you please tell Bonnie that she has to come to the dance," the blonde vampire says calling everyone's attention to the witch.

"What, Bonnie you're thinking of not coming to the dance?' Jeremy says

"That's crazy you have to go. It's senior year," Elena adds in

"I know. It's just that I already have plans," she defends

"Oh right. With the guy you're seeing," Jeremy teases

"Does anyone else thinks it's a little strange that we haven't met him yet?" Caroline says

"Yea, Bon we won't bite," Tyler say_s _joining the conversation

_But he does, _she thinks.

"Guys, it's not that big of a deal. We're kind of taking it slow. I'm not sure he's ready for all of this craziness," Bonnie responds

"I sure that he is a nice guy and whenever you're ready to introduce him to us, we'll be ready to meet him," Stefan says maturely

"Thank you Stefan," says Bonnie

"That still doesn't solve the problem of you going dateless to the dance," Caroline reminds

"Who said I was going to the dance?"

"You're going to the dance Bonne." Elena insists

"We just have to find you a date since you're not ready to take thing public with George Glass," teases Caroline

"Guys. Seriously, I don't need a date because I'm not going to the dance."

"I'll take you," Jeremy speaks up

"See that solves it. Now, what do you guys think the ratio of pink to red balloons should be? For obvious reasons I'm partial to more pink" Caroline says changing the subject

"Thanks, but no thanks Jer. I'm not going," the witch responds to the offer

"Bonnie. I'm taking you to the dance. End of discussion," Jeremy says with finality

"I'm seeing somebody," Bonnie reiterates

"Fine. We can go as friends, but bottom line is that we're still going."

_Bonnie doesn't know what to do. No, she doesn't want to go to the dance, but obviously her friends care little about what she wants and more about what they think she wants. She doesn't want to upset Damon, but she is at a lost about what to do. _

"I think I left the oven running," Damon says suddenly getting up from his seat and heading straight for the door. _So much for not wanting to upset him. _

"What's up with him?" Elena asks Stefan

"I'm not sure." He says with furrowed eyebrows

_I am_, Bonnie thinks.

"So what time do you want me to pick you up?" Jeremy says interrupting her thoughts

* * *

It's a little after 10 before Bonnie is finally able to make it home. The dinner ran later than she thought, but she hoped that Damon would still be waiting for her in her room. That was there thing now, if you could call it a thing. Since her dad was home, and her friends still didn't know about the relationship, Damon would sneak into her room every night after her dad had gone to sleep and she had finished all her homework. It was her favorite part of the day.

When she pulls into her yard, she quickly exits her vehicle. Rushing into the house and up the stairs. But when she gets into her room everything is how she left it and there is no vampire in sight. She checks her phone for missed messages and she has nothing.

Damon wasn't here, and from the looks of it, he wasn't that interested in speaking with her either.

She didn't know much about secret relationships, but she did know that after a while the secrecy starts to become less sexy and more frustrating.

Soon she decides that if he isn't going to contact her, she will call him and so she does, repeatedly, borderline stalkerish, but the line just trills and trills. Finally around the 10th call she decides to just leave a voicemail.

_Damon, its Bonnie. Which you probably already know from caller id, but I bet you that caller id can't tell how sorry I am. I'm really sorry. I tried to get out of it. I don't want to go. I just want to spend tomorrow with you, watching crappy TV and eating Chinese. I'm sorry and I'm sad that you're not here tonight, but I understand that you're upset. So please just call me when you get this. Goodnight…I love you. _

* * *

Bonnie falls asleep next to her phone hoping that she would be woken up by a buzz or a ding something to symbolized that Damon had called or texted. But when she woke up the next morning there was only one new message and it was from Jeremy reminding her to be ready by 7.

She dragged herself out of bed and initiated her usual morning routine.

_This was going to be a long day. Not only was Damon still not talking to her, but she would also have to spend the entire night pretending to be h_appy _when in fact she was completely miserable. He had abandoned her. To be fair maybe he felt abandoned in a way too, but at least she was trying to make amends while he was nowhere to be found. _

After Bonnie was dressed and ready, she said goodbye to her father and headed for her car.

_While she was in the shower she decided that a quick trip to the boardinghouse to see if Damon was home before school would fine. Once he saw her, once held her, he would remember that he was all that she wanted. She just had to make sure Stefan was already at school, because she really wouldn't be able to explain why she was loitering outside of his house early in the morning. _

So she calls him.

**Hey Bonnie**

_Hey Stefan, I just wanted to see if you were already at school, my car is on the fritz and I wanted to see if I could get a lift. _

**Yea, I'm already here, but hang tight I'll come and get you. **

_No, don't be silly since you're already there, I'll just take my dad's car. _

**Bonnie, don't worry about it. I can come and pick you up. **

_Stefan it's fine really. Plus my dad has leather seats so it will be an awesome drive. _

**Okay, if you're sure.**

_I am. Thanks anyway, I'll see you in class. Bye_

**I'll see you later Bonnie.**

Now that she was sure Stefan was at school, she headed straight for the boardinghouse. Her mind danced with enticing possibilities of how she and Damon would make up. She would probably end up missing school, because there is no way that he would let her out of his bed once he finally got her there.

However, a massive disappointment set in when she finally made it to his house and his car was nowhere to be found. She even repeatedly rang the doorbell, but to no avail because her vampire never descended to whisk her away to the private paradise of his bedroom. After realizing that she would be late for school if she stayed any longer, she headed back to her car. Tears daring to fall down her cheek.

_Had she really hurt him, bad enough for him to leave? She knew that Damon was a proud man, and it was easier to break into Gringotts then it was to get him to let his walls down. But she did it. They connected, she knew him, all of him. Still, she also knew how hard it must have been for him to set quietly by and tolerate all of their friends pushing her in Jeremy's direction. How hard it must have been for him to watch her ex receive public acceptance and elation for the feelings that he had for her. Something that Damon clearly wanted, but he also didn't want anyone to ruin what they had. Did she ruin it? Were her mistakes so bad that he would just pick up and go, without a single word?_

Bonnie drifted through her day at school in a cloud of despair. She wrote the right notes, said the right things to her friends, gave the right answers to her teachers, but nothing was right in her world.

* * *

From the moment that she realized that Damon was gone, to the moment Jeremy materialized at her door for the dance, she hadn't blinked once. She just simply stared into space hoping that somehow she could envision a way in which this didn't end with her broken and shattered.

"Bonnie…You look beautiful," Jeremy said as he offered her a pink rose.

"Thank you Jeremy." _She wore a pink sleeveless mini dress and a pair of black bootie heels. Her hair was in a tight bun, but a few tendrils fell to her face. She'd picked it out last night for Damon. Hoping that after the dance, should could really celebrate Valentine's Day. _

"Is that Jeremy Gilbert I hear?" Her father asks getting up from the game to greet Bonnie's date.

"Yes sir it is. How are you?" Jeremy says with a grin.

"Boy, if you don't get in here and give me a proper handshake, you better."

Jeremy walks into the house and does as he is told, offering her dad a handshake complete with all the bells and whistles.

"So how's school going? Have you picked a college yet?"

"No sir, I'm still looking. I want to see where Elena ends up going first, you know to try and stay close to her."

"Good man, looking out for your sister like that."

A loud cheering from the other rooms calls everyone's attention in that direction.

"Sir is that the Thunder game," Jeremy asks

"Yes it is. I did some business in Oklahoma a while back, and went to a couple of games."

"Durant is having a MVP year, if he doesn't get it then it's a rip-off."

"They're playing the Heat this Sunday. I was gonna grill up a couple steaks and watch it on the big screen, you're more than welcomed to join."

"Dad, I'm sure Jeremy has better things to do then watch some freakishly tall guys throw a ball into a basket," Bonnie says hoping to end the exchange between her father and her ex.

"No, it's cool Bon. I would love to sir. Do you think we could invite Matt, I know he was looking forward to the game also."

"Matt Donovan? Little Matt? Kelly Donovan's boy? Of course Matt is welcomed, the more the merrier."

"Well if the bro-fest is done I think we should get to the dance Jeremy."

"Yea, you're right," he says looking at his watch

"It was nice seeing you sir."

"You to, y'all be safe and Jeremy try to get her to have a little fun. But not too much fun," her father warns

"Okay sir," he laughs as he helps Bonnie into her coat.

_Great. Now not only were her friends trying to force her back into a relationship with Jeremy, but from the looks of it her dad was now on the bandwagon too. _

* * *

When they get to the dance it's already packed. A bona-fide success, she was sure that Caroline was somewhere nearby gloating. Jeremy had repeatedly asked her if she wanted punch or if she wanted to dance and after numerous no's he'd finally gotten the hint and had given her some space. Space that was shortly invaded by an over-joyous and sweaty Elena and Stefan.

"Wow you guys must be having a really good time," Bonnie says taking notice of the wide-grins that haven't left their faces since their arrival.

"Yes. Stefan is going through all of his favorite old-school dance moves. It's definitely a sight to see."

"I bet," Bonnie replies

"So where's Jeremy?" Stefan questions

"I'm not sure, I think he's dancing with some girl from his Chem class," Bonnie answers

"Wait he's what?" Caroline ask appearing from nowhere with Tyler trailing behind her

"Its fine Care, I told him it's was alright."

"He brought _you_ to the dance he should be dancing with_ you_, not with some loser underclassman. Where is he? I'm going to go drag him back," the blonde says as she searches the crowd

"Not, if I do it first," Elena adds

"Guys calm down. Jeremy asked if I wanted to dance and I told him no, so after a while he asked if was okay if he danced with someone else, and it was fine by me."

"I don't understand? Why come to a dance if you don't want to dance" Caroline asks

_Caroline's words were the final straw. _

"I didn't want to come to the dance. I wanted to stay at home. I told you guys that over and over. But you just thought oh poor Bonnie can't even get a date for Valentine's Day let's take pity on her and throw her ex-boyfriend that cheated on her with a ghost, her way. Yea, she'll take anything she'll just be happy that she even got a guy's attention," Bonnie shouts over the music

"Bon, none of us feel that way. We just didn't want you to miss out on anything this year. I mean it's our last year together, we all just wanted it to be special," Elena tells her.

"Yea, I'm really sorry that you think that's what we were trying to do, because it wasn't, I promise. We only want what's best for you," Caroline joins in

Bonnie starts to cry. She can't help it. Her friends just wanted to help. Damon just wanted her to be only his. It was all too much. So she broke.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Elena ask walking over to hug her friend

"Yes. I'm…I'm just tired. I think I'm gonna head home."

"Come on, I'll take you," Caroline offers.

"No, Care. You made this all possible you have to stay and enjoy your night. I'll just call my dad."

"She's right Care. But Bonnie you don't have to call your dad, I'll take you," Elena says

"Elena stay here with Stefan, and Care you stay here with Tyler. I'll be fine. I'll text you when I make it in" Bonnie says walking away before somebody else offers to ruin their night just so she can go home and sulk.

She is headed down the hallway when a shadow catches her eye. She looks in that direction, but she sees nothing, so she continues walking. Something about a public school after hours is just so eerie. When she goes a little further she is certain that she hears wind or some kind of noise, but when she turns around, she still sees nothing. Bonnie begins to quicken her pace as she walks further down the hall. She knows it's silly to be scared, but it is Mystic Falls, you never know what is lurking in the darkness. She is almost to the door, when something slams her into the lockers and pins her in place.

She is scared to open her eyes, her heart is beating fast, but then she notices the scent of her would be attacker. _Damon_

Her eyes open and are greet with direct access to his milky complexion, his jet black hair, and those glacial eyes that she has grown to love.

"Miss me?" he asks with a smirk

_Damon. Damon who had her worried sick. Damon who disappears for two days and doesn't bother to call or text so that she would know he was alright. Damon the asshole who she has cried over constantly since they last saw one another. _

She tries to release herself from under his hold, but he is too strong.

"Let me go Damon," she says angrily

"Well can't say that I'm not a little bit disappointed, that's definintley not the welcome back I was expecting. Actually I was hoping you would be a little more…what's the word? Ah welcoming."

"I was hoping that my boyfriend wouldn't disappear for two days and not bother to answer my calls or my texts."

"About that…I got a little tied up. Sorry,"

"Sorry? Sorry? I have been completely miserable and you have been god knows where"

"I see you weren't miserable enough to stay home waiting for my return. Maybe with a candle in the window? But I forgive you, only because this dress is going to look so deliciously wonderful on my floor tonight," he smirks

"You forgive me? You forgive me? You should be the one apologizing, profusely. And you no longer have the right to make sex jokes," she says still heated by his sudden appearance

"I am sorry that I didn't call you," he says in a low voice that makes Bonnie begin to melt.

"I'm still mad Damon, no matter what you say."_ Or how you say it._

"I've always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words anyway."

He leans down and places a soft kiss on her neck, "Are you still mad?" he whispers

"Yea…yes"

Damon gathers her earlobe into his mouth lightly tugging and sucking on it. The perfect amount of each that Bonnie leans her head to the side to offer him more access.

"How about now?" he asks releasing her earlobe

"I'm getting there…"

"Almost?"

"Al…" her words a lost in the kiss that Damon plants on her lips. He unpins her so that his hands can slide down her back, as she opens her mouth to allow his tongue to softly stroke hers. Bonnie's hands get hidden in locks of black hair. He presses himself closer to her, removing any doubts in her mind about where this kiss would lead. After what seems like an eternity he pulls away from the kiss, but they still stay entangled.

"I missed this," he says as he runs his thumb over her lips.

"Then why did you leave?"

"I had to go and acquire something."

"Something like what?"

"Something for you."

Damon moves his hands from her body in order to begin digging in his pockets, finally after moments of searching he finds what he is looking for and holds it tightly in his hand, away from her line of vision.

"I love you," he says before giving her a quick peck

"I love you too," she says in a tone that lets him know that she finds his behavior to be odd.

"I didn't plan on doing this here but," he releases himself from their entanglement and gets on his knees, looking up to here.

"Damon?"

"Just…just let me say this. And then I'll let you say whatever you want, okay?"

"Yea," she says realizing that somehow her heart had miraculously found its way into her throat.

"I love you. I really love you. And it's so hard for me…it's hard for me to wrap my head around this. Around us. How you make me feel. It's so…it's so good. You make me feel good. You make me feel like I'm good enough. For so long, all of my life really, I've come in second to Stefan. He was our father's favorite, Katherine's favorite, Elena's, he was even yours for some time. But now I would gladly come in second to him with everybody and in everything as long as I can be your first. I always thought that being a vampire was a curse and a blessing. Yea, I never age, and I can do super cool things and I look damn good while doing them. But sometimes it gets a little tedious. Now, I feel like I was created, I was turned into this monster so that I could live long enough to meet you. I know that I don't deserve you and I know that I've hurt you so much, but Bonnie the only thing I want to do for the rest of my existence is love you. So will you let me? Will you marry me?" he finishes his speech by offering her an emerald cut diamond eternity ring that matches her eyes perfectly.

_She doesn't know what to do. What to think. How to react._ So she responds by giving him an aneurysm, bursting each of his blood vessels repeatedly.

Damon yells in pain, holding his hands to his head.

"Why are you asking me this Damon? Did you hook up with some random girl while you were away? And you think that a ring is the only way to earn my forgiveness? What do you hope to gain by this?"

"You. I only want you. God…Bonnie…stop…" he begs

She watches him squirming from the pain. She knows that nothing he is feeling right now, will ever compare to how she will feel if she accepts his offer and he hurts her. Still the sight of someone she loves suffering so much at her hands implores her to stop so she does.

Damon struggles to his feet, "God Bonnie, if you want to say no, just say no. Don't witchy migraine me."

"Why now Damon?" she asks

"Because I realized at dinner, when everyone was trying to play matchmaker with you that I want them to know about us. I want everyone to know about us. But I don't want to be introduced as just your boyfriend, I want to be introduced as your fiancé."

"So this is about you proving to everyone that you can be in a committed relationship."

"Fuck everyone else. This about you and me. You belong to me and yes I want everyone to know it, but I also want you to know it and for you to never forget."

"We don't have to get married for you to show me that I'm yours, I know I am."

"No, I want to get married because you are it for me. You ruined me for anybody else. I can't even look at another girl without getting annoyed that she doesn't look like you, that she doesn't have your smile, or your curves. Every other female on this planet might as well be dead to me. I can only see you, Bonnie."

"Damon,"

"You're scared? You're scared that I will hurt you? Bonnie I won't. And if I do you won't have to witchy migraine me, I'll take a stake to myself for being such and idiot. So will you marry me?"

She pauses.

"Yes. I'll marry you… eventually. This is going to be a very long engagement, okay?"

"I'll take anything. Here," he says sliding the ring on her finger.

He playfully bites her ring finger, before moving to her mouth, in an intense and lengthy kiss. They hold nothing back, nothing at all. Hands roam freely, as they grasp at one another, like this is the last kiss that they will ever have.

Damon is about ready to drag Bonnie back to his room, when a voice startles the couple.

"Damon?" he hears Stefan call from a few feet away, rage coating his tone.

"Good news brother, we're engaged and you get to be the first to congratulate me. Where's the champagne?" Damon says holding up Bonnie's hand.

In an instant Stefan lunges at his older brother, with more than a hint of fury in his eye.

* * *

**A/N: Happy Valentine's Day guys. You all are so really awesome for the reviews and the comments. You guys constantly inspire me to continue writing. A quick shout out to a buddy of mine, who gave me the song for this chapter. I hope you guys like it! J**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here**

_Well you are the one, the one that lies close to me_

_Whispers "Hello, I've missed you quite terribly"_

_I fell in love, in love with you suddenly_

_Now there's no place else I could be but here in your arms._

* * *

"Here, I hope you like this kind," Bonnie says handing Damon the microwaved blood bag.

"Right now anything warm and red would do," he replies taking the bag.

"We should probably talk about what just happened" she tells him as she joins him on the bed.

"I'd rather not, since our time is limited, we should be using it to discuss important things like the fact that you are still dressed. Tell me again, why you are still dressed?"

"Damon, your brother saw us kissing and attacked you because of it."

"On the bright side, he agreed not to tell the rest of breakfast club about what he saw. Which is great because now I don't have to worry about Barbie throwing baked goods at my head or Jeremy stabbing me with his eye liner pencil."

"I think we just need to come clean. To everyone, including my dad. He invited Jeremy and Matt over to watch the game on Sunday and I think you should come. We should tell him then."

"Two problems with that scenario, basketball isn't really my thing and since I was the one who told Stefan, I was assuming that you would take care everyone else…alone."

"No way you should get credit for that. I did all of the heavy lifting with Stefan. I was the one that stopped him from killing you and I had to convince him not to tell anyone else."

"You're a girl and you can give people witchy migraines. It's safer for you than it is for me. Show some compassion."

Bonnie pauses for a moment, thinking over his words.

"Oh, you're right, I should show some compassion. After all you're still recovering from your fight with Stefan."

"I am, and you should be tending to my needs. All of my needs. Not arguing with me," he smirks

"No, no. I have a better idea."

"If it involves you naked and a pint ice cream, I've been having the same idea since I saw you in that dress. Let's get to work"

"It involves me going home, so you can get your rest. I will just come find you when I'm done telling all of _our_ friends and loved ones about _our_ engagement," she says standing up and straightening her dress.

"You're leaving? You can't leave."

"Goodnight Damon."

Bonnie strolls towards his bed room door, but isn't able to open it before he races across the room to block her exit.

"I was only joking before. Of course I'll watch the game with your dad, your ex-boyfriend and your creepy farmer buddy."

"And you'll be on your best behavior."

"I won't kill anybody. Is that good enough?"

"Damon!"

"Fine, and I'll be on my best behavior. Now let's revisited the ice cream and naked Bonnie idea. I think it was one of my best ideas yet and that's saying a lot."

"No, I can't I promised my dad that I'd be home by 11. Plus you need your rest we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"If that long day isn't spent having sex, then I'm pretty sure I'm not interested."

"We're going to drive up to see my mom and Jamie so that we can tell them about the engagement."

"Your mom hates me. And what is it with you forcing me to be around all of your ex-boyfriends?"

"You turned her into a vampire of course she hates you. Now get some rest. You can pick me up after school tomorrow," Bonnie tries to maneuver around Damon, but he refuses to let her leave. Instead her captures her in his arms and carries her back over to his bed.

"Put me down Damon. I have to go," she demands.

"I can't because we never celebrated our engagement. So as your fiancé, it's my duty to show you how excited I am about our impending nuptials," he says climbing on top of her.

"I have a curfew," she reminds.

Damon begins to suck slowly and deliberately at the base of her neck, running his hands up and down the curves of her body during the process.

"You can move in here and then you won't have curfew," he tells her briefly before returning to her throat.

"If I moved in here then you would never let me leave your room and I wouldn't graduate," the girl replies doing her best not to give in to the seductive powers of Damon's lips.

"Bonnie don't be silly, of course you would leave my room, we would have sex in the shower too."

"I have to go," she says pleading more than stating

"But you want to stay."

"I do."

"Let's go with that."

Damon abandons her throat for the familiar territory of her lips. Engulfing her mouth in a long and sweltering kiss. Tongues pressing, hands grasping, and lips consuming. But this isn't enough for the vampire so he tries desperately to coax Bonnie into allowing the removal of her dress. She won't budge, instead she ends their kiss, gasping for air.

"No matter what I want, I _need_ to leave. My dad is going to be livid come Sunday, so I don't need to do anything to piss him off preemptively."

"Fine. Do you need a ride?" he says sulkily, removing himself from the witch.

"Yes, I rode over with Jeremy to the dance so I don't have my car."

"I'm still angry at you about that you know,"

"I'm still angry at you for disappearing for two days," Bonnie replies as she vacates the bed.

"I went to buy you a ring. That's romantic and sweet. You going to the dance with Jeremy just makes me want to kill him."

The couple leaves the bed room and begin to head downstairs.

"I thought that you'd gotten passed that urge," she asks

"It comes and goes. I try not to analyze it too much," He replies simply

"We do have to tell Elena though."

"Yeah we do. How do you think that's going to go over?"

"Probably like a less violent version of Stefan's reaction."

"Speak of the devil. Hello brother."

"Damon," Stefan says grimily joining them on the hallway.

"I hope your reappearance doesn't mean you're ready for a round two, because I'm still in recovery mode. Ask my nurse."

"Damon, Stefan doesn't want to fight you. We're all passed that now," Bonnie says.

"I'm not so sure, his brooding tells a different story. Oh wait I forgot his face always looks like that."

"I don't want to fight you. I would like to speak to Bonnie in private though," Stefan says

"I don't think that's a good idea. Nope, I know it's not a good idea."

"Its fine you can leave us," Bonnie tells him.

"Alright, but don't try and convince her to call off the wedding or I'll hide your hair gel," Damon warns before descending down the stairs and exiting the house.

Once Stefan was sure his brother was out of ear range, he finally spoke.

"What are you thinking Bonnie?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know my brother and I know that he'll only hurt you."

"I guess I'll just have to take that chance."

"Did you think this out? Are you sure about this? About him?"

"Stefan do you really think that if I felt one-tenth of the way that I feel about Damon about someone else that I would be with him? I know who he is, I know what is. I know what he's done to me and my family, but even through all of that I love him. I didn't forget anything, I just decided to forgive him and move past it. So that I could be happy, and I've been my happiest when I'm with him. I can't explain it. I shouldn't have too. You're his brother, you're my friend. I want your support and I know it would mean a lot to Damon. But I don't need your approval. I trust him with my heart, if I didn't he wouldn't have it," she finishes.

Stefan is quiet for a moment, "Bonnie, if you want my support, then it's yours. I'm worried about how this will turn out for you. I'm worried that he will hurt you, but I trust that you see something in him that's worth getting hurt for. I know Damon has a good heart. There is a reason that I've stuck with him through all these years. If my brother has any chance at redemption, it will be through you,"

"I don't want to redeem him. Yes, I want him to not just kill people for the fun of it, but everything else. The bad, the ugly, the unpleasantness, I don't want to change that, it's a part of him. And I love all of him."

"Okay. I…good luck."

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it. We're telling my mom tomorrow."

"Yeah, maybe you should do most of the speaking," he laughs

"Probably so. I'll just leave Damon in the car," she adds

"Don't forget to roll the window down."

The two friends can't contain their laughter.

"What did I miss?" Damon asks, startling them with his sudden appearance.

"Nothing, I just made a joke," Stefan says as grins at Bonnie.

"I don't like inside jokes that I'm on the outside of, witch get your coat, it's time to leave."

"Goodnight Stefan," Bonnie says as she hugs the younger brother while rolling her eyes at the older.

When the hug is finished, she heads to the door where Damon helps her into her coat. Stefan stares at the interaction in amazement.

"Don't you have to go darken your eyebrows in?" Damon questions, becoming unnerved by his brother's weirdness.

Stefan just smirks at the insult, which serves to further displease him.

"What are you grinning at? I miss the brooding," Damon says

"Let's go Damon," Bonnie says dragging her fiancé out of the boardinghouse.

When they make it to the car, he opens her door and allows her to slide in before walking around and joining her.

"So what did you and Stefan talk about?" he tries his best to sound indifferent, but it doesn't work. At least not with Bonnie, who knows him too well.

"The craziest thing," she replies after making the decision to have a little fun at Damon's expense.

"Oh, yeah?" he questions pulling out of the driveway and onto the dark road.

"Yeah, he wants to know what type of lingerie I would like as an engagement gift."

"He what?"

"He even guessed my correct measurements. That Stefan Salvatore, you think he's not paying attention, but he is."

"He guessed your what?"

"And I told him I would go to the store and model whatever he picked out just so he could make sure he was buying something that I would actually wear."

Damon throttles the brakes, instantly stopping the car and jerking the girl forward.

"You what?" he furiously asked.

"God, Damon I was only kidding. He just wanted to make sure I was aware of what being in a relationship with you entailed."

After glaring at her for a moment, Damon resumes driving.

"It wasn't funny," he says roughly

"What wasn't?" she questions

"Your joke wasn't funny."

"Sorry it didn't live up to your standards Seinfield."

"I just think that there are some things that you shouldn't joke about, especially given my history."

"What about your history?"

He pulls up to her house.

"Story for another time. Good night," he says looking away from her

"No, tell me Damon," she demands

"You know our history. Stefan and mines. We shared Katherine. We both loved Elena. I don't want you to joke with me about you modeling for him. You belong to me. I don't want him looking at you the way I do or thinking about you the way that I do. I was going to go home and snap his neck, maybe lock him in the cellar for a few days or couple hundred years."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you felt that way. I want you and only you Damon. Not Stefan, not Jeremy, not Jamie. You. No one else. Just you."

"I know," he says quietly, obviously still recovering from the effects of her joke.

She leans over to give him a quick kiss before exiting the car.

"Goodnight Mr. Bennett," she tells him before shutting the door and walking into the house.

* * *

Damon sits outside of the high school waiting for Bonnie. If Caroline, Elena, Jeremy, or Matt spotted him, he'd decided to lie and say he was looking for Stefan. He felt ridiculous about overreacting to Bonnie's joke last night. He knew that the girl loved him and not his brother. Even still, she was worthy of so much more than Damon had to offer. He often felt as though she was settling. It would make perfect sense for her to want the better man and Damon had always viewed his younger brother to be such.

In the night that they spent apart, he'd concocted the perfect way to make it up to her, but he wasn't sure if they would have the time. Everything depended on her mother's reaction to finding out about their relationship.

"Hey you," Bonnie says tearing him away from his thoughts as she enters the car.

"Hey back, Mrs. Salvatore," he says leaning down hoping to meet her lips. However, Bonnie moves aside and he misses her.

"I don't think the best way for our friends to find out about us is by seeing us making out in your car,"

"Maybe, but last night was the second night in a row that we spent apart so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little handsy."

"I missed you too," she says offering him a quick peck on the cheek, "now let's go."

* * *

The drive to Abbey's house was long and made longer because Damon insisted on pulling over on the side of the road every 30 miles so that he and Bonnie could have a make-out session. By the time the girl made it to her mother's home her lips were swollen and bruised.

"Bonnie, what are you doing here?" Jamie says as he runs out of the house to embrace the girl. She hears Damon's growl, but she ignores it.

"Actually I came to see Abbey, is she around?" she replies

"Yea, she's in the house. Come on in. Do you have any bags or anything?" Jamie asks

"Nope. I won't be staying long, I just wanted to stop by."

"Okay, cool let's go in."

He ushers her into the house by placing a hand on her lower back.

That's too far. Damon could handle being ignored, he could handle the hug, but now the asshole was going too far. He was infringing on territory that was sacred to Damon and only Damon. Even though he had promised her different, he couldn't be expected to play nice, when Jamie was being so blatantly disrespectful. So he broke his hand.

"Oh..God!' he screams as he moved his hand from the nape of Bonnie's back to get a better look at the damage.

Damon smiles pleased with himself.

"Damon what the hell!" Bonnie yells in his direction

Abbey rushes outside when she hears the noise.

"Bonnie, what going on?" she questions her eyes shifting from her daughter to her adopted son then to the man who ended her life.

"I think it's broken," she tells her mother

"Come, let's get him in the house."

The three walk into the house. Damon trailing behind them. When he tries to enter the threshold he realizes that he hasn't been invited in.

"Bonnie, you have to invite me in," he calls bringing the girl back to the doorway.

"I can't because this is not my house. It was my mother's, but then you killed her. Now it belongs to Jamie and I really doubt that he's going to let you in, since you broke his hand."

"It's a fracture. I don't think it's broken all the way," he corrects

"You know what. Go home Damon. I'll ask Abbey to drive me back to town in the morning," she says angrily

"I'm not leaving you here. And I'm definitely not letting you spend the night under the same roof as him," he replies

"You're saying this like you have a choice in the matter."

"Bonnie."

"No, you always do this. You always make everything about you and your insecurities. Jamie is like my brother, why would you be threatened by him?"

"You went on a date with him not too long ago if I remember."

"As a friend."

"Yeah, well, I didn't like the way he touched you. You know how I am Bonnie. We've been through this before. I'm the jealous type. If I see anybody touch you or look at you in the way that I touch you and look at you then I'm going to explode. And when that happens sometimes people get hurt, but if it makes you feel better, they're always deserving"

"I told you…Damon I can't. I'm going to go check on Jamie."

"Don't go."

"No, you need to go Damon. Go home and I'll call you when I make it back to town."

"What about the game with your dad on Sunday."

"Stay home. I don't want you to rip Jeremy's heart out just because he hands me the dip."

Bonnie closes the door on him.

* * *

Damon drives to the hotel room that he had gotten with the hopes of making up his previous jealous rage. He devours the mini bar, before heading downstairs to the hotel's main bar.

He knew he had to do something or he was going to lose Bonnie forever and he would have no one to blame, but himself. He decides to call the one person who might be able to empathize with his situation.

**What's wrong?**

_Can't I get a "Hello brother it's nice to hear from you"_

**Hello brother, it's nice to hear from you. Now what's wrong?**

_Why does something have to be wrong?_

**We only talk on the phone when there is a crisis or if we are planning a way to avoid a crisis.**

_Not true, I called you that time for…_

**Exactly, now are you going to tell me what happened?**

_Why couldn't I have been the wise one? I guess I have to settle with be the better looking one._

**What a cross to bear.**

_It is Stefan. People don't realize that attractive people have it the hardest. Someone should start a charity._

**Now that you successfully evaded my question three times, how about you tell me the truth.**

_I fucked up._

**This soon? Really?**

_I broke Jamie's arm…hand…whatever_

**For fun or for…**

_He touched her back._

**You broke his arm because he touched Bonnie's back?**

_It was more than a touch, it was how he touched it. Like a knowing touch._

**A knowing touch?**

_Yeah well…the point is that Bonnie is furious at me, she told me to go home. _

**Then come home.**

_And leave her stranded here with him. No thanks._

**You called because you wanted my advice right?**

_Mostly I wanted you to agree with me. I mean when I was pursuing Elena, didn't you want to kill me?_

**Yeah I did, but you are my brother and she loves you, so do I. Hurting you would have only hurt her. Damon when you love someone, you have to always do what's best for them, even if it's not what's best for you. **

_How do you know I love her?_

**You proposed to her Damon, I know that that's big for you. I can't believe I didn't notice something was going on sooner. The way you look at her, with love and care, it's so obvious how you feel about her. **

_So what do I do?_

**Come home. Show her that you trust her. Give her space so that she can get over this and then be there when she needs you to be there.**

_I'll see you soon._

* * *

"Why did you invite us over here Damon?" Caroline questions

"I have something to tell you. So all of you just shut up and listen. Bonnie and I…for the past few months we've been seeing each other. And now we're engaged."

The group breaks into laughter.

"You're not engaged, she hates you," Caroline replies matter-of-factly

"He's telling the truth," Stefan says causing the laughter to cease.

"Stefan?" Elena questions

"They don't hate each other, and they're engaged. I was there."

"Someone has got to be pranking us," Caroline responds

"For once Barbie, this isn't about you," Damon says

"How long has this been going on Damon?" Elena inquires

"A while," he responds

"How long is a while?" Elena questions

"Some time after I moved into her house," Damon answers

"And you're just now deciding to tell us?" the brunette asks

"Well to be honest Elena it was none of your business," the older vampire retorts

"She's my best friend of course it's my business" Elena states

"Where is Bonnie?" Matt asks

"She's out of town telling Abbey," Stefan says

"Oh, you mean her mother that he turned into vampire?" Jeremy reminds

"I don't even know who invited you to this little Q & A, but since you're here let me go ahead and tell you that I just broke Jamie's arm just for touching Bonnie. So the next time you want to take her to a little high school dance or hug her just remember that her fiancé is a 100 year old vampire who would love nothing more than to drink a shake made only from your blood." Damon finishes

"Is that a threat?" Jeremy asks

"No, stupid it's a promise. A promise that I would very much enjoy carrying out," Damon responds

"I think we all just need to cool down. I'll admit that I was hesitant to accept the relationship at first," Stefan starts.

"Hesitant? More like completely resistant. You mauled me if I remember correctly," Damon adds in.

"The point is that, I understand that you all are having a hard time accepting this, and Damon understands too. Don't you Damon," Stefan continues.

"Yeah sure, I'm understanding," Damon offers

"Why isn't Bonnie here to tell us all this?" Tyler questions.

"She'll be back tomorrow. But if you're hoping that this is a nightmare that she will come and wake you up from, then you're going to be disappointed." Damon says

"Maybe we should leave and we can rehash all of this when Bonnie is back," Elena states

"Yeah maybe we should," Caroline says

"Fine, but Damon if you hurt her then I swear I'll…" Jeremy begins

"You'll what? You don't get to act like you're the protector of Bonnie's heart after the way you broke her. In fact none of you do. You all are too wrapped up in your own shit to even care about her. So you know what? Get the hell out of my house. I've hurt her, yeah I know I have, but so have all of you. The only difference is that I can acknowledge and admit what I've done. None of you even realize how you've hurt her. So get out. I don't care what you do or what you say or who you say it too, but I love her. I love more than anything your small minds could even imagine. Support us or don't, frankly I don't give a damn." Damon declares before walking upstairs and leaving the group to digest his words.

"So that went well," Stefan says sarcastically

* * *

Bonnie rings the doorbell to the boardinghouse, and before she can ring it again Damon is standing in front of her, leaning against the open door.

"How did your mom take it?" he asks

"She tried to force me to stay there and she called my dad who now wants to kill you, so I'd say it went better than I expected," she replies

"How's Jamie's hand?"

"You were right, the doctor said it was only fractured. They gave him some pain killers and a splint then sent him home."

"I was an ass," he offers quietly

"You were."

"I told your buddies that we were engaged."

"What?"

"Don't worry Stefan helped me break the new, so it didn't go over too bad."

"They were accepting?"

"No, but at least they know about us now and we don't have to hide."

"My dad wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow. He's probably going to put vervain in the food."

"Thanks for the heads up." He says

They stare at one another awkwardly.

"Can we be us again?" Damon asks breaking the silence.

"Yes please. I don't want us to fight. I don't want you to leave. I want us to work through our problems," she confides

"I shouldn't have attacked him. I have to learn to control my jealousy," he admits

"I wish you would learn not to be jealous."

"As long as you look like that and there are men on the planet, I'll probably always be jealous. But let's not talk about that right now Mrs. Salvatore, because I think you should be in my bed," he says effortlessly switching his tone from serious to seductive.

"Mrs. Salvatore? What makes you think that I'm going to take your last name?"

"Because I've seen Mr. Bennett and he's scary, but I'm sweet."

"You're not sweet."

"You know what? You're right Mrs. Salvatore, I'm not sweet. I'm bad very bad," he says grabbing her flinging her over her shoulder.

"Where are you taking me Damon?" she says screaming and kicking her feet in the air

"I'm taking you to my bed, we've been apart for too long!"

"I thought you were supposed to be sweet!"

"Well you reminded me that I am a very naughty boy so now you have to suffer the consequences," he tells her as he climbs the stairs.

* * *

**Hey guys sorry I didn't update last week. School has been crazy, so to make it up to you I made this chapter really long. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Btw how awesome was the Bamon hug last week? It was everything lol J**


	13. Chapter 13

**Mirrors**

_Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul_

_I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go_

_Just put your hand on the glass_

_I'm here tryin' to pull you through_

_You just gotta be strong_

* * *

_Ding dong_

Damon rings the doorbell to Bonnie's house, hoping like hell that it's the witch that greets him at the door instead of her disgruntled father. However, moments later he is sadly disappointed.

"Mr. Salvatore," Rudy says speaking the name as though it is an insult.

"In the flesh," Damon replies entering into the house without invitation, a move that doesn't go unnoticed by the man.

"I see that you have already been invited in."

"I've been here once or twice to change light bulbs, you know that sort of thing," the vampire replies shifting his eyes away from the man.

Rudy looks as though he is going to further inquire about exactly how long Damon has been able to come and go as he pleases, but thankfully Bonnie appears.

"Dad, I think you need to turn the steaks over," she says, joining them in the living room.

Rudy grunts to acknowledge her statement, before heading towards the back of the house.

"What was that about?" Damon asks walking over to the witch to wrap her up in an embrace.

"I don't think he's speaking to me," she responds sadly as she leans into his chest.

"You think?"

"Well, he's not talking so it's been kind of hard to confirm what exactly is going on."

"I'm sorry," Damon says softly as he kisses her head briefly.

"Ahem," Rudy clears his throat to announce his reappearance.

The sound causes Damon and Bonnie to relinquish the hold they had on one another.

"Dinner's ready," Bonnie's dad says before heading to the dining room with the steaks.

"This should be fun," the vampire smiles before grabbing the witch's hand and following after her father.

* * *

Dinner had been mostly quiet except for the sound of scrapping knives and forks and the daggers her father bore into Damon. The meal was almost complete, and Bonnie was grateful that they had managed to make it this far without her fiancé threatening violence or her father wielding a stake.

"Mr. Salvatore, what again is your purpose for being here?" Rudy asks, breaking the silence

_Maybe she spoke too soon._

"At dinner or in general because you would have to find a very old and very bitchy vampire to get the answer to that." Damon responds

"How about an easier question. Give me one reason that I shouldn't call Liz and report you for being the bloodsucking leech you are," Rudy demands

"I don't know if I would consider myself a leech. They're all slimy and unattractive and I'm well…me."

"I am not joking with you boy. Now you give me one good reason not to call Liz. Hell, give me one good reason for me not to put a stake into you myself. You think that I'm am going to quietly sit by and let you corrupt my one and only daughter?"

"Dad!" Bonnie speaks up

"Mr. Bennett, I'm not corrupting Bonnie. If you knew her than you would know…"

"So know you're going to tell me that you know my daughter better than I do?" Rudy interrupts.

"I was just stating a fact. _If _you knew her than you would know that no one has that type of influence over her. She can't be compelled, so she must be with me because she loves me. Sorry to poke holes in your theory." Damon says through gritted teeth.

Bonnie reaches under the table for his hand. _She knows how difficult it must be for him to sit here and take this and not explode. _

"Son, I have raised that girl, by myself for 17 years. So for you sit here and tell me that I don't know her only goes to show how ignorant you are."

"No it goes to show how ignorant you are. Of those 17 years how many birthdays did you miss? How many recitals, school programs, and events did you miss because you decided that it was easier for you to work than to be a home raising you daughter? How many times did Shelia have to fill in? She was the one taking Bonnie to school, helping her with her homework, teaching her right from wrong. Not you. The only thing you ever did for her was helping to create her. So don't tell me I don't know her when it's really you who that doesn't know a damn thing about her." Damon finishes

"Listen, we shouldn't be arguing. We shouldn't be fighting. Dad how about you go upstairs and I'll walk Damon out. Let's all just take a breather," Bonnie offers.

Rudy stands up and leans into the table, if looks could kill then Damon would be dead three times over.

"Bonnie, what do you see in this bloodsucker? He kills people. He feeds on them. Nothing about him is good. How can you not see that? This relationship is over. I won't stand for it. I want you to end this and end it now," Rudy demands

"Dad…I love him" Bonnie says with tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes

"Man up," Damon spits viciously at Rudy

"What did you say to me son?"

"I said man up. If you have a problem with me, then come deal with me. Don't make your daughter choose between us. And definitely don't try to demean her for loving someone."

"This is my daughter and I can do what I damn well please"

Damon stands up from the table and walks over to Rudy.

"Damon don't!" Bonnie pleads following behind her fiancé.

"The only reason that you're still alive right now is because of her. So instead of yelling at her and ignoring her, you better be thanking her."

"Get out of my house," Rudy yells

"Fine, but she's coming with me," Damon says grabbing Bonnie's hand.

"Like hell she is," Rudy replies walking towards the couple.

_Bonnie hates everything about this situation. Mostly because it puts her between the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with and the man that raised her. But also because even though it hurts her, she knows that it's not even a choice._

She squeezes Damon's hand for support and turns to face her father.

"Dad, I love him. I just do and I want you to be in my life, in our life, but that's your decision. I just can't stay here if you can't accept me and in order to do that you have to accept the man that I love," she says with tears spilling down her face.

Rudy looks at the couple with disbelief flooding his expression, "both of you get out and don't come back."

"Dad?" Bonnie questions

"Get out!" Rudy yells

"Let's go Bonnie," Damon says pulling the crying girl out the door

* * *

"What happened?" Stefan asks with furrowed eyebrows as he watches a tearful Bonnie running upstairs.

"Doesn't the Scooby gang need you help solving a mystery?" Damon questions as he places his keys down on the coffee table.

"I don't know Shaggy, do they?" Stefan counters

"That's really cute Velma," Damon responds as he begins pouring himself a glass of his favorite Bourbon.

"But really, is everything okay with her?" Stefan says seriously

"Her father disowned her then banished her from the house that she grew up in all because she is in love with me, so what do you think?"

"Wow, I was expecting some resistance from Rudy, but not this."

"Well, her father's a dick so no surprise there."

"What's Bonnie going to do?"

"What do you mean what is she going to do? She is going to live here, duh."

"I meant about her dad."

"Oh we're still talking about him?"

"Damon, I know that you didn't have the best relationship with our father…"

"Don't."

"You need to be understanding. Bonnie's and Rudy's relationship isn't like yours and Giuseppe's."

"The fact that she even has a relationship with her father pretty much gives that away."

"I just want you to try and listen to her right now, and not force your opinions on her."

"If you're done giving me relationship advice that I didn't ask for Dr. Phil then I'm going to go upstairs to check on my fiancé now."

* * *

When Damon makes it into his bedroom Bonnie is quietly staring out the window.

"See anything interesting?" He asks quietly walking towards her

"Yeah. I think there are a few girls across the street undressing in front of the window," Bonnie replies

Damon rushes to the window in an effort to see what the girl was referring too.

"Where? I don't see them," he says

"Pervert," she teases

"You were joking?" he smiles before continuing, "Anyways I'm not a pervert, I just appreciate the female form."

"You're supposed to only be appreciating my form."

"Oh I do. I can show you how much I appreciate your form," he says leaning down to kiss her slowly and softly.

Bonnie turns into the kiss, letting Damon's mouth and hands roam freely. He begins to gently stroke her cheek as she wraps her hands tightly around his neck. This kiss isn't fiery, but it's passionate. Passionate and lovely. It's just want she needs.

Damon is the one to end the kiss, after which he again pushes her into his arms, resting his chin in the nape of her neck so that they both are facing towards the window.

"Do you think he will forgive me?" she asks quietly enjoying Damon's arms around her

"I think in time most things are forgiven," he replies

"You held a grudge against Stefan for decades" she reminds

"Yes, but look at us now. We're like Ron and Harry."

"What is it with you and YA books?"

"I'm just well read."

"Yeah, so time huh? That's the answer?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I didn't have the best relationship with the man that fathered me. So maybe you should ask Stefan or Elena."

"Do you want to talk about your dad?'

"No. I think if you and I are going to be doing any type of bonding that it shouldn't be over our bastard fathers, but over my bed," he says seductively

"You think?"

"Yes, I think," He replies, hurrying up to kiss the girl in order to stop her from speaking again.

He lifts her up and she wraps her legs around his waist in response. Damon carries her over slowly to the bed, all the way making sure his lips never leaves hers and he hand never strays from her hair.

Finally they reach his massive bed, and he allows her to slide from his body and onto the mattress. He divests himself of his shirt as Bonnie waits hungrily. He lays down and then lifts her on top of himself. She leans down marking his cold chest with hot and wet kisses.

_Knock-knock _

Bonnie stops her marking.

"Go away," Damon says not hiding his irritation

"Damon it's me," Stefan says

"I know who it is, that's why I said go away," he responds.

Damon turns his attention back to Bonnie, "Now where were we?" he asks, but before she can speak there is another knock at the door.

"Bon, it's me Elena."

Damon stares at Bonnie curious about why her brunette best friend would be outside of his bedroom door.

"I'm coming Elena, just one sec."

"Okay, I'll wait downstairs," Elena says.

Bonnie removes herself from Damon and begins gathering her things.

"Where do you think you're going?" the vampire asks

"I'm spending the night at Elena's until my dad cools off." She replies

"No you're not. You're living here. Indefinitely."

"No. I'm going to live with Elena and Jeremy until my dad decides that he is speaking to me again."

"When did this happen?"

"I called her while you were downstairs."

"But why would you want to slum it with the Gilberts when you could live with me?'

"Because you are too distracting and I have mid-terms this week."

"I could help you study. What do you need help with? Anatomy?"

"And when things do finally color off with my dad, I think he might be pretty upset if he found out we were living together."

Bonnie finishes getting her things and is headed for the door, but Damon beats her to it. Blocking her exit.

"I could make you stay you know. I mean we were in the middle of something, so it's kind of rude for you the leave before we finish."

"I could witchy migraine you also."

"Point heard and understood," he says

"Good now why aren't you moving?" she asks

"Because, I want you to agree to go on a date with me. We've been engaged for four days already and we haven't really celebrated. So I want a date _and _I expect plenty of sex."

"You think demanding sex from me will make me more inclined to agree?"

"I thought you thought it was sexy when I was demanding?"

"You thought wrong?"

"Okay, agree to the date and we will see where it leads. Hopefully to plenty of sex, but if it doesn't I could always take a cold shower, or seven."

"Fine, Mr. Salvatore, but it will have to be next week."

"Mrs. Salvatore, I don't think I can wait that long."

"You have to because like I said I'm going to be swamped with exams all this week."

"Okay, but only if you wear something that I buy for you."

"What did you buy for me?"

"Nothing yet, but when I do you have to wear it on our date no questions asked."

"Deal. Now, I have to go. Goodnight," she says kissing him quickly

"Goodnight," he replies.

* * *

**Hey guys, I've been sick. I had the flu L. So that's why I haven't written lately. I know this chapter is kind of short, but I hope you forgive me. This song doesn't really go with the chapter, but I saw him perform it on Jimmy Fallon last night so I love it. Thank you for your reviews, follows, favorites, and everything else. I hope to post again next week so stay tuned.**


	14. Chapter 14

**First in Line **

_I've made my home in your heart and your mind_

_And you laid your hands on my chest and_

_You pointed home_

_I'll give you all of me_

_I'll make you mine_

_If you'll take me and you'll make me_

_Your first in line_

* * *

"So are we gonna talk about it?" Caroline questions staring impatient at the witch for a reply.

"Talk about what?" Elena asks looking up at the blonde

"Duh, elephant in the room!" Caroline quickly replies

"Unless the elephant can help me with these quadratics, then I will just continue ignoring him," Bonnie responds never taking her eyes away from her textbook.

"You just got engaged and didn't even tell us. Instead you have your fiancé tell us, who just so happens to be the sleazy vampire that we both have spent the last three years despising," the blonde says

"Care, I know that you're upset, but Damon isn't just some sleazy vampire anymore. He's going to be my husband one day. And if I can get past the fact that he killed my mother than I think you should be able to get over whatever issues you have with him," Bonnie replies as she sits her book down beside her.

"Did you even stop to think about Elena before you embarked on your dark secret romance?"

"What do you mean did I think about Elena?" the witch says shocked by her friend's question

"Did you think about how she would feel once she found out? You know her history with Damon!" Caroline yells

"She chose Stefan so I assumed that that history was no longer relevant!" Bonnie yells back

"Enough you two. Care, Bonnie's right I chose Stefan. So whatever feelings I had for Damon are in the past now. And Bonnie, we're supposed to be your best friends and not once over the past couple of months did you think about telling us what was going on in your life. It hurts."

"I didn't mean to hurt you guys. I guess I was just afraid."

"Afraid that we would stake Damon once we found out?" Caroline asks

"No…well that too. But mostly because for a long time I was unsure about how I felt about him. I knew I liked being with him and that he made me happy, but I just felt like something was missing. So I didn't want to introduce you guys to something that major if I wasn't sure it was permanent."

"But now you're sure…you're sure it's permanent?"

"I love him so much guys. Yeah he can be an ass, but I don't ever see my feelings changing."

"Okay," Elena says finally

"Okay meaning?" the witch questions

"Okay meaning that if you love him and he loves you too then go for it. I think both of you deserve to be happy," the brunette responds.

Bonnie waits for Caroline to say something, but instead the blonde stands up and walks towards her bag.

"And where are you going?" Bonnie asks

"I'm not jumping up for joy, but I guess someone has to start your wedding board on Pintrest. I mean God, Bonnie you've already been engaged for like a week and you still don't know what your wedding colors are going to be," Caroline replies returning to the couch with her laptop.

"Uh Care, I'm not…" Bonnie begins but is soon interrupted.

"Stop. You want me to accept your relationship with the dark lord then I want to plan this wedding. I can't say that I am in full support of this unholy union, but I do want you to be happy"

"And you want to plan my wedding?"

"The patterns, the dresses, the cake, leave it all to me. I've been waiting for this day since I was born. This is my JLo moment, don't deny me."

"Fine you can plan the wedding," the witch relents

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Caroline says excitedly jumping off of the couch once more this time to hug her best friend.

"A little too tight Care" Bonnie strains as the blond loosens her grip

"Sorry. I forget my own strength," she says returning back to her own seat

"No worries, now can we please get back to studying?" Bonnie asks.

Before any of the girls can retrieve their textbooks, the doorbell rings.

"Saved by the bell," Caroline jokes

"I got it," Elena says getting up from her seat.

Soon she returns to the living room accompanied by Damon who is carrying a large black box.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie questions

"It's the strangest thing. I was in the neighborhood and my ears started burning so I just thought I would stop by and see how the girl talk was coming along."

"What's in the box?" Caroline asks as she eyes it curiously

"Not your dream house Barbie. Bonnie can we go upstairs?"

"Yeah, sure."

The couple heads upstairs to the guest room, leaving Caroline to begin her board and Elena to resume her studying.

* * *

"So are you going to tell me what's in the box?" Bonnie ask closing the door behind her

"That depends, are you going to tell me how much you missed me this week?"

"I missed you so much. Now what's in the box Salvatore?" Bonnie says reaching for package

"Simmer down witchy. I've been here for five minutes and you haven't even offered me a proper hello," Damon replies holding the box out of her reach.

"Hello," she smiles

"Not really what I had…"

His words are cut off by a long lush and wet kiss the kind that makes him wish that their date was tonight instead of tomorrow.

"Now that's more like it," Damon says once their kiss is over.

"Seriously what's in the box Damon?"

"Well, I told you that I would be picking your outfit for our date, so ta-da"

"It's a dress?"

"Yes, but don't open it until I leave."

"Okay. Thanks for stopping by."

"Very funny," Damon says falling back onto her bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Come here," he says pulling her hand to guide her towards him. Once she is close enough he pulls her unto his lap. "You know, I could always compel your teachers into giving you A's on all your exams," his says softly against her neck.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm going to have to decline the offer."

"Then I can compel the principal into letting you graduate early so you can have the rest of the school year off," he says even softer, his breath cooling her warm skin.

"Again so tempting, but I'm pretty sure everyone would be suspicious."

"Then I'll compel them not to be," he replies as he slowly traces the shell of her ear with his tongue.

"Tell me again why you want to compel the student body, the teaching staff, and the school administration," Bonnies asks, trying to keep a clear head while Damon's tongue did it's best to undermine her.

"So that you could spend the time that you are normally in school, in my bed, where you belong" he whispers in her ear.

"Well instead of compelling half the town, why don't you wait for tomorrow. We'll have most of Friday to spend together and I'll stay with you Saturday."

"What about Sunday?" Damon questions in between his hungry nips at her ear lobe.

"I'm having dinner with my dad."

"He's speaking to you again?" he asks pausing his biting to look up at the girl

"Somewhat. Caroline got Liz to talk to him and he seems more willing to hear my side of things now."

"I hope it works out like you want."

"Thank you. I know it's hard for you to be positive about the dad drama, so I appreciate your support."

"Let's not talk that, how about we talk about your new roommates?" he says changing the subject.

"Well Elena has been surprisingly cool with everything. Jeremy not so much," the witch responds

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, it's just that he is letting his feelings about you be known every chance he gets."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"Would you use your words?" she asks

"Words are so overrated," he says with his perfected seductive grin

"Really Mr. Salvatore?"

"Yes really. Especially when there are so many more effective ways to get your point across."

"Maybe I need a quick demonstration."

Damon doesn't speak again. Instead he leans back on the bed taking Bonnie with him. She finds his mouth and they began a feverous and hurried kiss. The vampire runs one hand through her brown tresses, while the other holds her in place. His tongue darts quickly into her mouth, slowly caressing her own. The vampire grabs her neck in an effort to deepen their kiss, while Bonnie does her best to move her legs in the proper position to straddle him. Once she has achieved her chosen spot, Damon deftly undoes the buttons that line the front of her shirt revealing the black lace bra that housed her caramel breast. He nibbles down the base of her throat deliberately making his way to the incased mounds, passionately sucking once he reached his destination. Bonnie moans as his mouth begins to slowly undo her. They stay tangled in one another for some time before a knock at the door interrupts their bliss.

"Bonnie, when your make-out session is over, Elena and I were thinking of going to the Grill. Studying over burgers and fries is so much more fun," Caroline says

"Okay, sounds good," Bonnie replies breathlessly.

"Why is it that whenever we're about to get to the really fun stuff, there is always a knock at the door?" Damon ask as he runs a lone finger up and down the girl's back

"Maybe you should learn that if you want to get to the fun stuff you have to take me somewhere special."

"Or maybe you should just come back to the boardinghouse since your lame friends won't be there and Stefan is easy to ignore."

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends…"

"Are you asking me to have a threesome?"

"Whatever sexual fantasies you have about me, you, and my friends, get rid of them now," She says with a playful finger pointed at his chest

"Yes ma'am."

"And I meant to say was that you could stand to be a little nicer to Caroline _and_ Tyler _and_ Matt _and _Jeremy."

"I could, but what's the fun in that?"

"You're so stubborn."

"Yes, but I'm cute too," he tells her giving her a quick kiss

"Okay, I love you, but now I need to get back to studying," Bonnie tells him as she struggles to get up.

"5 more minutes," Damon pleads pulling her back down

"They're downstairs waiting for me," she protests weakly

"5 more minutes won't kill them."

"I think I should go now, because in 5 more minutes you'll probably convince me that you need 30 more and then I'll never leave."

"I think we should just revisit the idea of me compelling everyone at your school. I mean it's a lot of work, but you're worth it."

"You can't compel half the town Damon. I want to stay here with you too, but I also really want to pass my mid-terms."

"Fine, but I promise that after tonight you're not leaving my sight for the next two days. I don't care if Barbie needs help dying her extensions or if the breakfast club needs some of your witchy ju-ju, you're not leaving."

"Possessive much?" Bonnie questions playfully

Damon looks at her with a seriousness that she's only seen a few times and says, "Only over the things that I care about."

* * *

Driving away from Bonnie's house was more difficult than he'd imagined it would be. He knew school was important to her, and he knew that her friends were also important to her. He just wished that he could be the only thing that mattered. She was the only thing that mattered to him. Sure, he loved his brother and he wouldn't want to see Elena die, but no one and nothing else mattered to him as much as Bonnie did. If he let himself really think about it then it would scare the hell out of him. She had complete control over him now. His happiness, his sadness, his loneliness all depended on her. How did he relinquish that type of power to her and not realize it? Maybe he should get a hobby. Drinking could work, but every time he took a sip at the Grill he was flooded with memories of Ric. He would have to think of something though, and soon because having Bonnie being his entire world was not working out as well as he had imagined.

As soon as he gets home he begins his new hobby. Drink after drink after drink, until he finds himself sprawled on the couch.

He is about to get up and pour himself another drink when he hears footsteps approaching.

"Stefan?" he asks

"Nope," a female voice replies back

"Elena?"

"Wrong again. You know I have to say, after all these years I thought you would be better at this. I'm kind of disappointed."

"Katherine."

"Ding-ding."

* * *

**Hey, guys! As always thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows. You guys motivate me to keep writing. I love that Katherine is coming back to TVD so I decided to add her into the story. Next week is spring break for me so hopefully I will have time to update at least twice. Fingers cross the Bamon is canon by prom or at least by next season!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Mountain And The Sea**

_You call me a mountain_

_And I call you the sea_

_I'll stand tall and certain_

_And watch you swallow me_

* * *

"I'm sure that the hounds of hell are lonely without you, so why don't you tell me what you want so you can get back," Damon says darkly as he gets up to refresh his drink.

"And here I thought that you would be pleased to see me," Katherine replies in a tone that lets Damon know he won't be getting any answers anytime soon.

"How could you think such a dumb thing? With all those years of plotting and conniving you should be a little smarter than that."

"Your insults won't hurt me today, Damon."

"Maybe I should try a little harder," he finishes topping off his Bourbon and is headed back to the couch when Kathrine says "are you going to continue being rude or are you going to offer me a drink?"

"I would, but I'm not sure where Stefan put the Vervain. Darn."

"Whiskey. Neat."

Damon begrudgingly returns to the bar and begins making the drink.

"So is there an evil bitch convention in town or…"

"Actually, I came to see you."

"Well it was a wasted trip. Whatever diabolical plan you have going on, just leave me out of it," he states as he hands her drink.

The younger vampire sits down on the couch while the older finds a spot in an armchair directly across from him.

"No silly, I wanted to come congratulate you and the future missus on your pending nuptials."

"How did you know about the engagement Katherine? Have you been spying on me?"

"I like to keep tabs on all of my old toys. You know I hate sharing."

"Good thing I don't belong to you then."

"When's the big day?"

"Why don't you just tell me what you're really doing here, your brand of bullshit is starting to make me nauseous."

"Is it the cold feet that have you being so nasty?"

"No, it's the sociopathic narcissist that showed up uninvited and won't leave."

"Did you really think that you could get engaged to a Bennett witch without me finding out?"

"Are you just pissed because we didn't send you a save the date?"

"Not as pissed as the witches are going to be when they found out who young Bonnie has mistakenly decided to spend her life with."

"Green doesn't really look good on you. How about trying to be dead again? In my opinion that was your best look."

"You know Damon, I only came to warn you."

"Why didn't you warn me that you were considering coming? So I could have known to take a vacation."

"She's lost so much because of you already. Her dad, her friends, and the respect of those that she cares about. I just don't know how she'll be able to get over all of that loss. Maybe Stefan can comfort her. He always knew exactly the right way to comfort me."

Damon's half-filled glass drops to the floor as he rushes over to slam Katherine into the wall. Once the surprise of the attack wears off, the older vampire is easily able to get the upper hand. She pins Damon into her former position against the wall.

"Now are you going to play nice?"

"Go back to hell. I'm sure Satan is wondering where you are."

"Ah Damon, still afraid to face the truth I see."

"With you Katherine the truth looks a hell of a lot like a lie."

"You're not even yourself when you're around her. When was the last time you fed on a human? She's trying to change you and you are foolish enough to think that you can change. You're just like me Damon. Stefan is the good one and you and I are the ones that know what it's like to take full advantage of being a vampire. End it before it's too late."

Katherine lets him go and as soon as she does, she is gone. Leaving him with spilled Bourbon, broken glass, and head swimming with worry. _Was Katherine right?_

* * *

It's Friday night and like promised, Damon waits quietly outside of the Gilbert's for Bonnie. He would go in, but he can't see Elena right now. She looked too much like Katherine she also sounded too much like Katherine. And the brunette had just forced him to confront some hard truths, that he still wasn't able to wrap his head around.

_He wasn't an idiot. He knew that Bonnie was too good for him, that he didn't deserve her. So he overcompensated. He stopped feeding directly on humans, he tried his best to be a good boy. Most of all he tried his best to deserve her. Had it gone too far? Was he no longer himself, but the person he thought Bonnie wanted?_

Damon thoughts are interrupted when the witch walks out of the house in the dress he brought for her. It was a strapless gold and peach dress that stopped at her knees. The sequin bodice perfectly accentuated all the features that Damon had grown to love about the girl. Her deliciously caramel skin, her beautifully plump breast, all were on display tonight. The light pink band that was fashionably fastened around her waist allowed him to see angles of her curves that he'd only see when she was naked. His second favorite part of the dress was the peach chiffon skirt that thankfully stopped short enough that he was permitted the sight of her toned legs. He'd known it was a good dress when he saw it in the store, but he didn't know how good it was until he saw her in it.

"You look amazing," he says walking over to her. He was too impatient to wait for her to cross the distance in between them, he needed to touch her. Now.

"I feel amazing this dress is incredible."

He greets her with what he intends to be an innocent kiss, until the memory of her in that dress reenters his mind. Damon puts his hand against the small of her back, drawing her closer as his other hand softly brushes her cheek. His tongue slides into her mouth. The heat between the couple growing as Bonnie threads her hands through his jet black hair. He wants her, he needs her. But not here so he pulls away.

"If that was the precursor then I'm ready to get this date started," she tells him as she catches her breathe.

"After you," he grins seductively.

* * *

Picking the perfect place for their date had been difficult. He wanted someplace nice, but he also wanted someplace private enough so that he could satisfy his reoccurring impulse to touch her as much as his heart desired.

So with all of these things in mind he decided that the only appropriate venue for tonight would be _their_ barn. It was the place where they made love for the first time, where she truly became his. It made sense, or at least it did to him and he hoped it would to her.

He'd spent the day making sure everything was perfect. The only romantic gestures that he was familiar with were the cheesy clichés that he'd seen repeated in the chick flicks Bonnie had forced him to watch. So he free-styled it. A round table cloaked in a white table cloth stood at the base of the oak tree that occupied the yard. Long stemmed pink roses in a crystal served as a centerpiece. While round golden lanterns hung gracefully from the tree.

"This is beautiful Damon," Bonnie says in awe as the vampire walks her towards the table.

"One second," he tells her excusing himself.

He walks towards the barn, stopping momentarily at a smaller round table to make the words Ingrid Michaelson stream soulfully from the speakers. After that he goes into the house, but returns shortly with two frosted champagne flutes and a bottle of very expensive looking bubbly.

"What are we celebrating?" Bonnie asks as he fills her glass before handing it to her.

"I don't know. I seem to remember us getting engaged not too long ago and then you spending the time we should have been celebrating to study. By the way how did you mid-terms go?"

"As good as can be expected."

"At least all that time you spent away from me wasn't in vain."

"No, it wasn't."

"Now Mrs. Salvatore I think it's time for dinner unless you'd like to skip ahead to dessert."

"I would, but I didn't eat lunch so I'm starving," she smiles.

Without another word Damon walks her to her chair. Pulling it out for her and allowing her to sit before pushing her back towards the table. He removes the silver dome that protected their meals revealing two plates of smoked salmon served with a rice and vegetable salad.

He places their plates on the table, removing the dome and the tray that previously held them, before joining her at the table.

Dinner passes by with not much conversation. Bonnie is busy enjoying each bite of her meal, and Damon is trying his best to forget Katherine's words that still insist upon haunting him. For dessert they have Bonnie's favorite strawberry cheesecake from the Grill.

"Dinner was amazing," Bonnie tells him once she's finished her meal.

"I know. You ate everything."

"It was too good not to be eaten. That would have been a crime against food. And the food police would have come to cart me off."

"Yeah, but you would've looked so darn cute in your orange coveralls."

"If I had of went away then you would have nobody to tell you how bad your singing really is."

"When have you heard me sing?"

"You sing in the shower and you hum in your sleep."

"If I did such things, then I'm sure I would be great at them. Like I am at everything else."

"Sure," she tells him.

"A Dance?" he asks

"How about you carry me into the barn and make wild and passionate love to..."

Bonnie can't finish her sentence before Damon has her in his arms and inside of the barn.

"You only have to ask once."

They both laugh at his reaction to her words as he returns her back to earth. The music from outside slowly creeps its way into the barn, serving as a soundtrack for each of their movements.

Damon drinks in the girl's appearance on last time before he rids her of the dress he'd liked so much. It looked good in the store, great on Bonnie, but it was pure perfection on the floor. He kneels down and slowly unfastens each buckle that has her confined in her strappy gold heels. Once she is left in nothing but her strapless red bra and matching underwear, Damon slowly begins to travel his way up her thin leg with his mouth. Creating a trail of warm and wet kisses up and down each of her legs. Stopping as her neared her center. He slowly dragged down her panties until they pooled around her feet. He helps her out of them while staying in his position on the floor. Damon begins to slowly suck at her core, coaxing her leg up and onto his back to grant himself further access. She moans as she pulls his hair, his tongue warmly massaging one of the most sensitive parts of her body.

"Damon," she shouts, her voice dripping with ecstasy.

But he doesn't slow down, if anything he speeds up. Using his tongue and his mouth to make her orgasm. She climaxes, violently shaking as her world comes undone by his lips.

He gentle removes her leg from his back as he stands up to meet her mouth. The heat that they experienced in their earlier kiss reemerges causing their current kiss to burn with passion. Scorching the both of them as their tongues start an erotic dance. Bonnie begins unbuttoning his shirt while he makes quick work of her bra.

He leaves her mouth and starts teasing her nipples in between his teeth. He is able to create the most fulfilling recipe of biting and sucking that causes desire to erupt inside of the girl.

"Damon I need you," she tells him in a barely audible whisper.

Bonnie slides back onto the bed and watches as Damon divests himself of the reminder of his clothing. His erection greeting her as he slides out of his pants. Once he is in the same state of undress as the girl he joins her on the bed, crawling slowly to her. Again he captures her lips with the same fiery passion as before.

Even though he enters her gently, she gasps when his length finds its way inside of her. He pulls out with at the same speed in which he entered. Then he repeats the move until they have built up a quick blissful cadence. Bonnie moves her hips up to meet each one of his wonderfully painful thrusts. He moves quicker and quicker until they both succumb to ecstasy and join one another in orgasm. He falls back on the mattress and she joins at his side, resting her head on his chest as she floats her way back down to earth.

"What do you see in me?" he asks her breathlessly

"What do you mean? What's up?" she responds in the same breathless tone.

"I don't know. Isn't this what other couples talk about? What they like about each other."

"I guess. I don't really know."

"I mean Bonnie you have to like something about me besides my supreme gorgeousness. Don't be that shallow."

"Oh, well besides your incredibly attractive face …"

"And my hot bod," he interrupts.

"Besides your incredibly attractive face which is accentuated by your extremely hot body, I enjoy your sense of humor. Even though most of your jokes are about sex."

"Nothing wrong with that. Continue."

"I don't know. I just like being with you. I like how you try and take care of everyone you love, in your own special way. I like how protective you are. Even when we hated each other, you always did whatever you could to keep me safe. I like how I feel when I'm with you. I don't have to pretend. I can be happy or angry or sad and you'll accept my mood and adapt to it. You don't try to change me. You saw me, the real me, and you gave me your love. Which I know was hard for you to do after everything. I love you Damon because you were brave enough to accept my love."

"That's…that was…thank you," he is speechless from her words and needs time to let the full effect of them wash over him.

They're both quiet for some time before Bonnie finally speaks, "Now it's your turn."

"My turn?"

"You're turn to tell me what you like about me."

"Oh okay. Well there's so many things. Your ass for one, you have a really nice ass. And your…"

"Damon, seriously."

"Whatever I say isn't going to come out all poetic and Nicolas Sparksy like yours."

"Say it anyway."

"Fine. You make me feel like a better person. You make me want to be a better person. I'm a vampire, a killer and you make me what to be less so. To try and not be an asshole all the time. Life is different for me now. I used to have a routine you know. I'd roll out of bed at noon. Shower. Feed off of whatever girl was still in my bed from the previous night. Get dress. Go out and meet more girls. I did this every day. And now…now I don't know what to expect from life. Sure we do the Buffy thing and that's different, but each day I'm excited about what more can I learn about Bonnie Bennett. Will I get to see her naked today? Will she tell me that she loves me?"

"I love you," she interrupts offering him a quick peck on the cheek

"I know. Most of all I just like you Bonnie. I like your hair. I like the look you give me when you're annoyed by something I did. I like how warm you are when you fall asleep on my chest. I like how green your eyes are. How your smile always reaches your eyes. And how you would die for the people you love. _I _would die without you," he surprises himself with his last admission.

"Damon?" she asks looking up at him

"I don't do this Bonnie. I don't know how to…I've never been in a situation like this."

"What situation?"

"I loved Katherine, she didn't love me back. I loved Elena, and she loved me back but not how I loved her. I love you and for all those reasons you listed, you love me back. I don't understand it, I don't pretend to. I know I screw up a lot. A lot. I think… maybe I might really screw up one day and you won't forgive me."

"I love you Damon. We'll always have or ups and downs, but I don't think anything could keep me away. I think in order for us to make this work we just have to be true to ourselves. Yes, we need to be considerate and think about how the other person might feel about our actions. But I don't want you to change or try and be somebody you're not because you're scared that I will leave you if you mess up. I know who you are, and all the things that you've done and I'm still here. I'm not leaving."

He kisses her, really kisses her. He needs to show her how much her words means to him. When the kiss is over, she nuzzles against his chest and drifts off slowly. He wraps her in the blanket and holds her firmly.

_Her words, her touches, and her kisses had finally rid him of Katherine's unwanted opinions. He was safe again, but how long would it be before he was fearing for his relationship once more? _

* * *

**So I hoped you all liked this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing, it only took me a day to finish it. It's my Spring Break so I hope to be posting again later on in the week. This chapter is completely told from Damon's pov and the next will be told from Bonnie's. I hope you enjoy it and that you for all of your reviews, follows, and favorites!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Drop In The Ocean**

_A drop in the ocean_

_A change in the weather_

_I was praying that you and me might end up together_

_It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert_

_But I'm holding you closer than most,_

_Cause you are my heaven_

* * *

Bonnie stirs.

_Somehow the weekend has passed her by, and it is already Sunday. Which means she has to leave Damon. They had more or less been in bed since Friday night. Only daring to move if one of them need food or to use the bathroom. Well, in this case the outhouse, since they were miles away from civilization. Still it was perfect and peaceful. Unfortunately for her, she had to leave the picture of perfection that was a sleeping Damon Salvatore. His milky skin contrasted so beautifully with his inky black hair that it almost pained her to look away. _

She sighs before detangling herself from the bed sheets and beginning a search for Friday night's clothes.

"Mmm where are you going?" Damon says sleepily

"Dinner with my dad remember,"

"On Sunday, today is…"

"Sunday. I know. I'm kind of having a hard time wrapping my head around it too."

"Come let me wrap something else around you."

"No time for that," she replies as she slips back into her dress

"There is always time for that," he purrs as he divests himself of his bed covers revealing another large argument for his physical perfection.

"Don't," she pleads.

"It's still technically Saturday in some distant corner of the world, and isn't this place our own little distant world?"

He walks over towards her, his eyes dripping with seduction.

It was right then that Bonnie truly began to fear for her life. She knew that as long as Damon looked at her like that, her self-control would be practically non-existent.

"I just got dressed Damon,"

"Then I'll undress you."

"My dad is waiting for me, I…we don't have the time."

"We can make the time. You stayed away for a week. I still don't know why you won't move in with me. I think engaged couples live together. I'll Google it."

"How about you put your clothes on and drive me back to the Gilberts," Damon makes a noise to interrupt, but Bonnie quickly silences him before continuing, "And if you are on your very best behavior, which means no more sexy distractions to stop me from getting dressed then I will let you come over tonight."

"What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Actually, I'm glad you asked. Matt, Jeremy, and Tyler are going fishing or hunting, I'm not sure which one I just know that whatever they are doing involves catching animals."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"No. You should go with them. And when I'm done with dinner you can come and pick me up."

"I'll agree under one condition."

"What?"

"You sleep at the boardinghouse tonight. I don't think having sex with you while Elena is in one room and Pete Wenz is in the next would be enjoyable for either of us."

"Fine, now get dressed."

"And I get to pick the music on the ride back to town."

"Sure you do," she replies with sarcastic grin.

* * *

It's 6:30 when she finally makes it to her dad's. She would have been there sooner, but Caroline had reminded her that it was her duty as a best friend to listen quietly while the blonde discussed her problems. Today's problem was Tyler's distant and increasingly weird behavior. Caroline wasn't sure how to help him when she didn't know what was bugging him, so she needed Bonnie to listen while she thought of possible explanations.

When Caroline decided it would be best to just give Tyler some space, she allowed Bonnie to end the call. As soon as her best friend duty was over, she headed to her dad's. Things at dinner were awkward to say the least. Her dad didn't know how to speak to her and she didn't know how to speak to him.

"So how's school?" he questions hoping to try and get some sort of conversation going.

"It's good. I just had midterms this week so," Bonnie replies as she takes a bite of chicken

"Midterms already? You'll be graduating soon."

"Yeah, I know. I'm excited."

"Have you give any more thought to what college you want to attend?"

"Well I applied to Duke, Whitmore, UVA and a few others."

"And will _he_ be going with you?"

"His name is Damon and we haven't talked about it yet."

"I don't think allowing him to go with you would be good for your studies."

"And I'm sure that's the only reason you don't want him to come," she responds sharply

"I'm not going to lie. I'm still having a hard time accepting your relationship, but the point is that I'm trying."

"I know you are dad and I am trying to respect that fact and give you the time and space that you need."

"That's why I invited you over for dinner. I want you to move back home. I'm thankful the Gilberts gave you a place to stay, but you belong here."

"Dad, I belong with Damon. If I'm here, then he'll be here too. So think about that before you say you're ready for me to come back home."

"I have and I know we can make it work. We just need to set some rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes. For starters, he can't be over here past 9 on a school night."

"Dad that's ridiculous."

"Sweetie I know that while I was away you had to be an adult, but now that I'm here you are still my little girl. And the last time I checked you were only 17. So asking that your much older boyfriend isn't over here past 9, seems reasonable."

"He's my fiancé."

"Fine, fiancé."

"What is your next rule?"

"He can't feed on humans."

"You can't control his eating habits dad, but he only drinks from blood bags anyways."

"Okay, good."

"Anything else."

"Not right now."

"Great. I also have a few rules if you want me to move back. First when you address him either refer to him as Damon or as my fiancé. Bloodsucker and leech are not acceptable terms."

"Okay."

"Next, when he is over here, you don't have to be overly friendly, but you should at least try to be cordial."

"I'll do my best."

"And I want you to take him with you when you and the boys go play basketball."

"I can't do that sweetie."

"Dad, you took Jeremy."

"I like Jeremy."

"Well you better start liking Damon too or at least pretend like you do, he's going to be around for a very long time."

Rudy looks at his daughter. He can tell that she isn't budging on this, so he relents.

"One game. That's it."

"Okay and I want to extend my curfew to 12."

"You're pushing it."

"Fine. Thanks dad."

"Sure. Now, what kind of ice cream do you want for dessert?"

"Cookies & Cream," the girl replies happily as her father heads out of the room.

_Everything was falling into place. She had finally got her dad and her friends to accept her relationship. School was going great. More importantly, Damon was being great. She thought warmly about the events of the weekend. The way she felt in his arms, the way his lips felt on her skin, she missed him. _

Just as she was getting ready to call and see how his time with the boys was going, her phone rang.

Caroline sobbed on the other end.

**Bonnie**

_Care what's wrong? Why are you crying?_

**Bonnie**

_I'm here. Where are you? I'll get my dad's car and come getting you_

She hears nothing for a while.

_Hello?_

**Bonnie, it's Elena.**

_Elena, good. What's going on with Caroline? Please tell me that she's not crying because she missed a shoe sale._

**No. No. Bonnie its Tyler.**

_What about Tyler, is he still acting strange? Is that why she's crying?_

**No, he's…Tyler's dead.**

_How? What…Elena what happened?_

**I don't think we should do this over the phone.**

_Elena just please tell me what happened._

**It was Damon. He…Damon killed Tyler Bonnie.**

_No, he didn't. He wouldn't. They were just going fishing…no he wouldn't_

**Jer said that out of nowhere Tyler start to go all crazy, like he was possessed and then he started trying to attack Damon. I guess Damon fought him off for as long as he could and then he…**

_Then he what?_

**Bonnie**

_Then he what Elena?_

**Then he ripped his heart from his chest. **

_Where is he?_

Bonnie drove like a bat out of hell to the boardinghouse.

_How could Damon kill Tyler? How was it even possible? It was her who had encouraged him to join the boys on their fishing trip. So was it also her fault that Tyler was dead and Caroline was a wreck?_

When she reached the house, she didn't bother knocking or checking to see if the door was locked. No, instead she mumbled a quick spell and the door opened for her.

"Damon!" she shouted angrily as she entered the house, but she needn't had shouted because he was right of her sitting in the dimly-lit room nursing a drink.

"How could you?" she question, biting back tears

"He was going to kill me. I had no choice," there was no fight left in his voice, only defeat. He knew he would lose her and it was better to accept that then to continue to hope.

"You could have snapped his neck, chained him up. You didn't have to kill him."

"Tyler was compelled to kill me. Nothing I could have done would have stopped him"

"Who compelled him Damon?" she asks with disbelief

"Katherine," he says the name as though it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth

"After all of this the least you can do is not lie to me."

_He looks up. He sees the hurt in her eyes. He knows that if he told her the whole truth she would stand by him, but she would also lose her friends. She would lose her dad, she would lose herself. Why should Bonnie continue to lose everything for loving him? It was his time for loss._

"Bonnie…I…fine. I killed him. I did it. I ripped his heart from his chest and I buried his body in the woods. Is that what you want?" he questions walking towards her

"Don't come near me Damon," she warns

He doesn't listen and continues walking, but he pays for it a second later when she delivers an especially painful aneurysm his way.

He screams in agony, as she cries from loss.

_The loss of Tyler's life. The loss of his relationship with Caroline. She cries for her own loss because she knows that whatever she and Damon had, no matter how good it was, won't ever be enough to make her forgive this._

Finally after what seems like hours of torture to him, she stops the explosion of pain in his head. Bonnie wipes the tears from her eyes and slowly pulls off her ring. This will break her. Leaving him, ending it, this will break her. But it's her fault that Tyler's dead. It's her fault that Caroline won't have her happiness. So why should Bonnie have hers?

"I love you so much. I…I just don't think I can keep hurting myself to try and save you," even though she willed them not to, tears begin to once again stream down her face as she puts her engagement ring on the table and walks out the door.

"Bonnie I…" but he doesn't finish, he has no need to. She was gone and so was any redeemable part of him.

* * *

**I never post on Sunday nights, but I promised you guys another chapter by the end of the week so here it is. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! You guys are truly awesome. Special shout out to stefanswifey01 for going and reviewing every single chapter in one day. That was really cool lol. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, I was a little sad writing the end, but I'm excited to have bad Damon come back for a little while. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Everything We Had**

_I am no gentleman, I can be a prick_

_And I do regret more than I admit_

_You have been followed back to the same place I_

_Sat with you drink for drink_

_Take the pain out of love and then love won't exist_

_Everything we had, everything we had_

_Everything we had, everything we had_

_Is no longer there_

* * *

A drunken Damon Salvatore stands, bare chested, on his favorite Persian rug roughly draining the life from a petite blonde. He is only mere drops away from emptying her body completely of blood. He feels her throat starting to go cold in his hands, he can see the color leaving her face. But he knows that if Bonnie were to somehow find out about this little incident, she would look at him with her judgey eyes.

So in one swift motion, Damon releases the girl's neck, rips the flesh from his own wrist, and begins feeding her his blood. Once he is certain that she has had enough to continue her mediocre existence, he lets her go and she falls down with a thud joining the rest of the girls.

Strewn across his living room floor are four unconscious bodies. These bodies belong to girls that he'd brought dangerously close to death, but quickly retreated by offering them his blood. They just hadn't woken up yet, but they would.

He pours himself a very large glass of his hardest hitting Whiskey and reclines back on his plush couch. He doesn't close his eyes, because of the fear that he might encounter a pair of green orbs, silky caramel skin, and chocolate tresses all belonging to the one girl that he wanted more than anything. Those eyes were the scariest thing that he has ever faced.

Soon Stefan walks in carrying his backpack interrupting his brother's me time. Damon didn't know it was so late in the day. Time had sort of stopped for him when the girl walked out of the door.

"Are they dead?" Stefan asks in a concerned tone as the slowly approaches the bodies

"No, they were just tired so I put them down for a nap. You should get their juice boxes ready."

Stefan lets out a sigh of relief when he finds a weak pulse on all of the bodies.

"I thought we were passed the acting out stage. It's been over two weeks," the younger vampire says as he walks over towards his brother.

"I have no idea what you are talking about baby bro," Damon responds ignoring the worry in Stefan's voice.

"You could just tell her the truth Damon, and she'll come back."

"You don'tknow what you're saying."

"I do. Be honest with her. You need to be drunk on liquor and blood to make it through a day without her. Tell her the truth, before someone gets hurt."

"Butt out Stefan, and besides we would have broken up eventually anyways."

"I don't believe that and neither do you."

"I am always going to be a vampire and she is always going to be a judgey little witch. It wouldn't have worked."

"Opposites attract."

"No, they react. She's water and I'm sodium. When we mix it's explosive and exciting. But soon you'll remember that she will always be water and _I _will always be sodium."

"I could tell her."

"You could and then I would snap your neck and leave you in the basement. Then you'll miss prom and Elena will hate you 5ever," the dark haired vampire taunts

"Speaking of prom, I need to go pick up my tux," Stefan says heading towards the door

"Does she have a date?" Damon asks causing his brother to turn around

"I thought you didn't care about her."

"I never said that I didn't care, only that we are both better off alone. So does she?"

"I think she's going with Matt and Caroline."

"You think? What do you do at school all day? You should be keeping up with the gossip."

"I go to school to learn Damon, but I will check it out and see who her date is. Or you could ask her yourself."

"Just make sure she isn't going with little Gilbert or her step-brother."

"And if she is?"

"Then I'll set the gym on fire."

"Or you could offer to take her to prom."

"I know that for someone reason you seem to think that I want your advice, well I don't so keep it to yourself."

"Fine, I have to go. I'm meeting Elena at the Grill after I get my tux. Would you like to come?"

"Add invitations for teen functions to the list of thing I don't want to hear from you."

"Are you going to do something with the bodies?"

"Why are you looking for some new friends?"

"Goodbye Damon," Stefan says walking out of the door.

As soon as he is sure that his brother is out of the yard, he runs upstairs to put on his shirt before also exiting the house, leaving the pile of girls where they are.

_It's 4 p.m. so that means it's time for his favorite activity of the weekday._

* * *

He drives to the girl's house, parking two blocks away so that no one would recognize his car. Once his car is hidden from view, he strolls casually into her yard, jumping unto her roof. Damon peers inside her room to make sure that no one is inside. It looks empty so opens then window and throws his legs across, sliding into her room.

_It smells like her, he can feel her presence throughout the room. He misses being here, he misses belong here. _

He is in the room for barely five seconds when suddenly he hears footsteps coming up the stairs. He runs back to the window, but before he has a chance to leave out of the room, he is greeted with a very tired looking Bonnie.

Upon seeing his fleeting figure, she quickly closes the door to her room.

"What are you doing here Damon?" she questions in a whispered voice drawing him back inside.

"I didn't see your car outside so I thought you weren't home," he admits quietly.

"If I wasn't here, it still wouldn't be okay for you to just break into my house."

"I wasn't breaking in, I was invited."

"That was before…" she trails off

"I'm still the same person," he reminds

"You…I don't want to talk about this. You still haven't told me why you're here," she says changing the subject

"Well you still haven't told me where your car is."

"I let Jeremy borrow it so that he could take his driving test. Not that it's any of your business. We're broken up Damon."

"I didn't change my relationship status on Facebook so it's not official."

"Damon…" she begins

"And why the hell would you give Gilbert your car. I don't like it. I don't want him in your car. In fact I don't want you near him at all."

"I let him borrow my car. That's it. I told you I wasn't interested in Jeremy anymore."

"That was before…" he trails off

"Before you went and ruined everything," she adds

"I know. I know I messed up, but you lied."

"I lied?"

"You said you wouldn't leave me and you left."

"I thought that if you messed up it would be by hooking up with some random girl, not killing my best friend's boyfriend."

"But it was so easy for you just to leave?"

"Damon you think that any of this is easy for me? It's not. I don't sleep, I can't eat, and I can't even look at my ring finger. I cry. All I do is cry and try to comfort Caroline when she lets me," she admits as she fights back tears.

_He knew he risked receiving a witchy migraine, but seeing her break like that in front of him made him want to hold her until he could piece her back together. So he did._

Bonnie didn't object to him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. It felt too good to protest. It felt like home. She sobbed quietly into his chest. She missed his arms, his smell, and his lips, which were now placing soft kisses on her forehead.

Damon sighs heavily before he confesses, "I missed you. That's why I come here every day at 4. I miss you."

"You come here every day?"

"You're usually not home from school yet, so I come here to be near you."

"What do you do in here while I'm gone?"

"Who are you going to prom with? Stefan told me Matt and Caroline," he says changing the subject

"I…you're not going to like it," she admits looking up at him

"Tell me anyways."

"Well I was going with Matt and Caroline…" she begins

"But?" he questions

"But Caroline decided that she wasn't going to feel up to it so Matt offered to stay in with her and order take-out."

"So are you going to stay at home too?"

"I was, but then Jeremy…"

"Fucking Gilbert," he says interrupting her.

"Jeremy said he didn't have a date either so now he and I are going together."

"You're not going. I'll be damned if _my _fiancé is going to prom with Jeremy Gilbert"

"I'm not yours anymore Damon."

"You'll always be mine."

With his words still lingering between them, Bonnie struggles out of his embrace.

"Damon, kiss me. Kiss me one more time and then leave," she demands looking up at him with teary eyes

"Bonnie can't we…can we try to work?"

"I can't do it to Caroline."

"This isn't about her."

"This is all about her Damon."

"So you're going to punish yourself because Tyler is dead?"

"If it weren't for me he would still be alive."

"I was the one that killed him. So this isn't your fault."

She winces at the words.

"I sent you on the trip. So it is my fault."

"Bonnie…"

"No, it is. So how can you expect me to allow myself to be happy with you when I know my best friend will never be happy again and it's all my fault?"

_He doesn't know what to say. He could tell her the truth. He should tell her the truth. The lie made her loyal to her friend, but the truth would make her loyal to him. He would have her all to himself. But he couldn't be selfish, not with Bonnie. She needed him to stay away so that she could move on. It hurt him to think of someone else offering her soft kisses. Someone else holding her close in a dance. Someone else protecting her when she was scared. That was his job and his job only. If he hated sharing her with her friends, how would it feel when she was no longer his to share and she moved on. Surely he couldn't survive that. He decides something right then and there. Something that will kill him, but could possibly give Bonnie the life she deserves. _

"I don't want to leave yet," he finally utters

"I don't want you to leave yet," she admits

"So I'll stay."

"Damon you…"

"I'll stay and I'll hold you and I'll kiss you. We can pretend that it's still the weekend and we're still happy."

"And when I wake up."

"When you wake up, I'll be gone and you'll be free to move on."

"I don't want to move on," she cries

"I don't want you to move on."

"So I won't."

"Bonnie you'll have to, because when you wake up. I'll be gone."

"Gone to the boardinghouse?"

"I'm going to leave town."

"Damon, no."

"I know why we can't be together and until that changes I can't be in the same town as you. Knowing that Jeremy Gilbert is going to be doing my job."

"I'm yours," she cries falling back into his arms

"For now, but eventually you won't be."

Bonnie starts to really cry now.

_The thought of never seeing him again, it hurts so bad that she has to ignore the urge to claw at her chest. She's being selfish and stupid. She pushed him away and now that he is agreeing to stay away, she doesn't want him too. He deserves so much happiness. He deserves someone who will believe in him, someone who will love him. A person who accepts his bad, but pushes him because they know he can be better. She thought she would be that person. She thought that she would be his forever. But now someone else would be his and Bonnie wouldn't get to tug at his inky black hair, she wouldn't get to feel his soft lips plant sweet kisses, she wouldn't get to be held in his arms. Most of all she wouldn't get Damon. He was the best prize of all. What could Bonnie do? She knew she wanted Damon to be happy, but she also knew she wanted him to be hers. Unfortunately for the girl, the two things put her at odds with herself. He would leave and she would let him go because she knew that she couldn't be selfish, not with Damon. _

"Where would you go?"

"Probably to another country."

"And I won't see you again?"

"You won't. Not for some time"

"I still love you."

"I know," he tells her as he softly strokes hair.

Damon lifts her chin up. Slowly tracing the outline of her bottom lip until he brings her mouth to his. Both the vampire and the witch explode in a fiery heat as soon as their lips collide. His tongue enters her mouth tenderly massaging hers with his own. Each wants more, but both are afraid to take it, so Damon ends the kiss.

"Come," he tells her softly as he reaches down for her hand.

She does as told and follows him to the bed. They lay side-by-side before she cuddles up next to him, resting her head on his chest and sighing.

_She'll miss this and so will he. _

"You'll leave and I'll move on," she repeats making sure she has the script memorized.

"I'll leave and you'll be happy," he corrects kissing the top of her head.

"I'm happiest when I'm with you."

"You're also your saddest."

"You break my heart, but you also heal it," she says softly

Neither speak again for some time, the only sound in the room is Bonnie's soft crying.

"Shh, be quiet sweet girl," he tells her, gently stroking her hair.

Soon Bonnie falls asleep in his arms, but Damon stays awake. He wants to enjoy the feel of her on his chest, until can't and then he will leave.

* * *

**Okay, so I had to add prom in the story, because I am very excited about Thursday's episode. Thanks for all the likes, favorites, follows, and reviews. I appreciate them so much. I know you guys were upset about Bonnie not being understanding, but the Tyler situation will be explained soon! Just be patient lol. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Another Love**

_And I wanna kiss you, make you feel alright_

_I'm just so tired to share my nights_

_I wanna cry and I wanna love_

_But all my tears have been used up_

_On another love, another love_

_All my tears have been used up_

_On another love, another love_

* * *

Damon stands next to his bed with his already half-filled duffle open in front of him.

"So it is true," Katherine says perched against the doorway of his room.

"Do you have a thing for popping up in places that you aren't wanted?" he replies with his back turned to the vampire.

_He just wanted to finish packing and to leave, but he knew he had one more thing to do before he took off. _

"You really are moving away. How sad."

"Yeah well when you moved back, I figured the town had gone to hell anyways."

"Is this because of your break up with the witch? I have to say Damon, I did try and warn you."

"I would love to have this conversation right now, but I have much more important things to do like watching paint dry."

"I'm so happy you can laugh at a time like this."

"You know what would really make _me_ happy? If you would crawl back to whatever hell you came from."

"You'd miss my company."

"If by miss you mean become extremely elated because I would never have to see or speak to you again then yes."

Damon continues packing his bag as Katherine makes her way from the door to the windowsill.

"Do you ever get tired of it all?" she asks with a sudden serious tone as she searches out of the window

"Tired of what exactly?" he questions

"Tired of the endlessness"

"I didn't know that soulless narcissistic bitches could have existential crises. I guess you really do learn something new every day,"

"Believe it or not Damon, I do want you to be happy."

"You're right I don't believe it."

"Very well, either way it's the truth."

"And what would you know about truth Katherine?"

"I know that you don't really want to leave the witch. You've been folding and unfolding the same shirt since I got here."

"Shows how much you know, this isn't this same shirt. It's just all of my shirts look alike."

"I would be more than willing to help you take your mind off of her for the night." she says with a seductive tone as she crosses the room.

"Sorry, I don't pay for it. Plus you're really not my type, I like them a little more living."

"That's funny, because I seem to remember you spending decades hung up on me and when I finally let you know that I wasn't interest in your whole devil-may-care thing, you fell in love with my doppleganger," she whispers to him, resting her hand on his shoulder

"Yeah, well they warn you to stay away from drugs," he replies forcibly moving her hand.

"You weren't high Damon. You were in love."

"I _thought_ I was in love."

"If you say that Bonnie Bennett showed you what love truly was then I think I'm going to barf up the waitress I just drank."

"You wouldn't understand, because you aren't capable of loving anyone but yourself."

"That's hurtful. I did love Stefan."

"You know trying to pit us against one another for your affection is so 1864."

"Sure the time has changed but you haven't. If I'm not capable of love, then you aren't capable of change. You will always be the selfish, second-best, less decent version of your little brother. It must suck always coming in second place."

"I thought you were leaving."

"I am. Tell your witch I said hello," the brunette says as she begins to exit the room.

"Oh Katherine just one more thing," he calls out

As soon as she turns around to face him, Damon injects a syringe filled with vervain into the vampire's stomach causing her to slump unconsciously to the floor.

"A little going away present," he says to the poisoned vampire before grabbing his phone and dialing a few numbers.

**It's done and try to hurry up, I have somewhere to be.**

* * *

Bonnie slips slowly into her prom blue silk prom dress. She had mentally prepared herself because in a way this was a night of goodbyes.

_This was one of the last major moments she would have with all of her friends, yet she wasn't exactly excited about it. Sure she wanted to see Stefan, Elena, and Jeremy get all dressed up and have a good time, they deserved it. But prom wouldn't be the same without Matt, Tyler, and Caroline. They had waited for this night since they entered high school, and now it would come and pass with only half of the gang in attendance. _

_She was sad. Yes, the night wasn't going how it was supposed to, but she was mostly sad because of Damon. Damon Salvatore, the vampire that she had despised immensely just three years before. Now, she couldn't even hate Damon if she tried. And boy did she try. But he had wormed his way into her heart and she knew she would never be able to get him out. She knew that at this exact moment across town, he was packing his bags to leave. Bonnie would never see him again. _

Her heart ached at the thought.

_If things were different then Damon would be waiting downstairs for her right now. He would take her to prom, and hold her. Tyler would still be alive, Caroline would be functioning normally, and Damon would be in her arms. All would be right in the world, but since this is Mystic Falls everything is in complete and utter chaos_.

A knock on her bedroom door interrupts her thoughts.

"Bonnie, it's your dad. Can I come in?"

"Yeah dad."

Rudy enters the room, staring at his magnificently dolled up little girl. She looked like she is headed to a ball. His chest filled with pride from admiration of his daughter's beauty.

"That's a lovely shade of blue," he offers.

_Their relationship was still on rocky ground, but he was doing everything in his power to find some stability. Even going as far as keeping his mouth shut when she announced the engagement was off. He hid his elation at the announcement, because he could see how miserable she truly was. And now he had to do something about it. _

"It's…it reminded me of Damon eyes. I mean I got it before everything so…" she mumbles

"You don't have to explain your dress choices to me sweetie."

"Yeah, I know…I just didn't want you to think this was a desperate attempt to hold on."

"Sit down Bonnie," he says with a heavy sigh

"I…okay," she says eying her dad mysteriously

"You know that there is no love lost between Mr. Salvatore and myself."

"I know, but dad it's…" he holds up a hand to silence her

"I'm not big on speeches so I will just say this. Whatever that boy did, was it bad enough that you feel the need to punish yourself for it?"

"Dad… I don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw you when you had your first crush, I saw you when you had your first boyfriend, and I saw you when you had your first date and not one of those times did you even look one-tenth as happy as when you were engaged to him. Now, I don't pretend to understand what you see in him nor do I fully condone your relationship. But sweetie whatever he did, I know that he regrets it if it cost him you. And I know that as much as you care about Jeremy Gilbert, you would rather it was Damon taking you to this prom."

"Dad. I love him I do and I probably won't ever love anybody as much as I love him, but he hurt someone that I really care about. So no, I don't get to be happy. I know how hard it was for you to tell me this, and I appreciate that, but I…I'm just going to finish getting dressed and then I'm going to the prom with Jeremy. This is what you wanted all along, be happy."

Bonnie stood up and turned away from her father, wiping away her tears in the process. She knew that her father's final acquiescence to her relationship would only serve to hurt her more. So she ignored it and got dressed.

* * *

_The prom was probably considered beautiful to every other girl in the room, but not to Bonnie Bennett. No, she knew the romance of distant barns with large oaks trees where soft lights twinkled to the sound of soft rock. She knew of waking up in the arms of the person you were meant to spend the rest of your life with. Most of all she knew the rare beauty that was the love of Damon Salvatore. But she would know these things no more. For these things were not hers to know. He was moving on, literally, and she would be left behind in his wake. _

"You look gorgeous Bonnie," Jeremy tells her again for what seems like the 100th time, and although she is sure that he is sincere, his compliment does not melt her soul like Damon's would.

"Thank you Jeremy," she responds with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Do you want punch?"

"Sure that would be great."

While Jeremy goes off to procure their beverages Bonnie watches the exits, hoping against all reason that Damon would appear. But she soon gets the next best thing when Stefan invades her line of vision.

"You look really amazing," he says kindly

"So do you. Where's Elena?"

"Bathroom break."

"Oh. Is she having fun? She deserves this night."

"You know you deserve this too right?"

"What do you mean? I'm having a great time."

"I think that if there is somewhere else you would rather be, then you should be there."

"Stefan it's too late."

"Maybe, but if you stay here you'll only regret it."

"He killed Tyler. How can I? What about Caroline?"

"What about Bonnie? Hmmm?"

"I don't understand."

"You sacrifice your happiness and your safety for the sake of others. I think it's time you started to put yourself first."

"Even if I go and he's still there… what do I say? He would never forgive me for leaving him. I promised Stefan and I lied."

"Bonnie, I've seen my brother tortured, I've seen him with a stake lodged an inch from his heart, I've seen him burned by the sun, and vervained. All of these things caused him a lot of agony, but nothing compared to what he felt when you left. I don't mean to make you feel bad, what I am trying to say is that is how much he loved…loves you. That that amount of physical pain does nothing when up against the pain he felt at the loss of you. And do you know why he felt that much pain? Because he loves you more than anything or anyone on this planet. "

"Stefan…" she begins, but is interrupted when Jeremy and Elena both appear

"Here's your punch," he says handing her the cup

"Thank you," she replies quietly

"Bonnie where have you been all night? You look great by the way."

"We got here a little late, and you look pretty hot yourself."

"Thank you. Oh we have to take a group photo later. I wish Care was here and then we could all get a copy to keep when we go off to school next year."

Bonnie feels a pang of guilt. It's her fault that Caroline and Matt aren't there with them. She smiles through it.

"Elena would you like a dance," Stefan asks offering his hand

"Certainly," the brunette smiles taking the vampire's proffered hand

The couple trots off, joining everyone else on the dance floor.

"Would you like to dance?" Jeremy asks hopefully

She nods, placing down her cup and lets him lead the way.

Jeremy puts his hands on her waist, pulling her closer than she really wants to be. But she allows it and drapes her arms around his neck in response.

_This was supposed to be Damon._

"You know I was thinking we could go to the Grill afterward. I think everybody is going to a party or something, but we could go get dinner if you're up for it," he tells her

"Actually Jer, I'm pretty tired. I was hoping to go home and crash after everything."

"Yeah, that's cool too. We can just get something to eat tomorrow. I work the morning shift, but after that I'm all free."

_Bonnie, was scared to ask. She did not want to have this conversation. But the way that Jeremy was holding her, the way that he was trying to make plans with her. Did he think that they were a couple now?_

She immediately dropped her arms to her sides and stopped the movement of her feet. Her body tensed, and Jeremy looked up to meet her eyes.

"Is something wrong Bonnie?"

"Jeremy, I…do you think…you know that I'm not over Damon right?"

"I know, but I want you to know that when you are I'm here. We never really ended things and I know that I was a jerk, but I want to make it right. I want us to make it right. Bonnie I still care about you a lot."

"I don't think I'll ever be over Damon," she admits out loud.

"You will. It just feels like that now. I'll help you," he says reaching for her face

"No!" she says sternly causing him to drop his hands

"Bonnie I thought that this is what you wanted."

"I only want Damon," she tells him.

_And it hits her. No matter what she did, no matter who she was with, she would always want Damon. He was her soul mate. And if she didn't make haste her soul mate would vanish. _

"I'm sorry Jer," she apologizes before running over to the dancing Stefan and Elena.

"Stefan, I need your keys," she says urgently

"Why what's wrong?"

"Bonnie are you okay?" Elena chimes in

"No, I just realized what a total idiot I was and now I have to try and make it right before it's too late."

"Here," Stefan says thrusting the keys in her hands.

Bonnie didn't even stick around to say thank you. She ran from the gymnasium to the parking lot where Stefan's fire red Porsche awaited.

She got in the car, and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life and she was off. Mystic Falls passed her in a blur. The stops lights couldn't even slow her down. She would just mutter a spell and turn them green.

10 minutes after she left the school she is pulling up into the driveway of the boardinghouse. She leaves the engine running and hops out of the vehicle.

"Damon!" she yells pounding on the front door, but she receives no reply. So again she uses her magic to bypass the inconvenience of locked doors.

As soon as her enchantment opens the door, she is running upstairs to the vampire's bedroom.

"Damon," she says as she walks further in, but he isn't here. No, her vampire is gone and in his place are a dozen boxes or so filled with what she can only assume are his possessions.

_He is really gone. He left her._

Bonnie falls to the floor in her silk blue prom dress that was meant to pay homage to her lover's eyes. Eyes that she would no longer gaze in, eyes that she would no longer have watching over her.

She had pushed him way, and now he was gone.

She sobbed tears of sadness, of loss, of pain. She would never love again. That would be how she would honor Damon. Sure, she would continue school, graduate, and go on to college. But no man would ever know her body or her heart like the vampire had. She would be only his until she took her last breath.

After what seemed like hours filled with tears and sorrow, the girl struggled to her feet. She made her way over to one of the boxes that lined rear wall of the room. She searched until she found one of Damon's button up black shirts. One of the buttons was missing and there was lipstick on the collar. This was her favorite shirt of his because she had ripped the button off herself during one of their extensive passion-filled lovemaking sessions.

Bonnie shrugged into the shirt, inhaling the scent that she longed to smell. She left the room and walked downstairs and out of the house.

As much as it pained her, she said goodbye to the place where the only man she that she'd ever loved had lived and drove off, after all this was a night of goodbyes.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This is next to the last chapter so everything with Tyler and Katherine will all be explained next week. I know that last night's episode was kind of a bummer especially since we expected Bamon, but there was some obvious foreshadowing going on so I'm still hopeful. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites I really appreciate you guys appreciating my writing. **


	19. Chapter 19

**That's Why You're Beautiful **

_Diamonds used to be coal_

_Look young cause they got soul_

_That's why they're beautiful_

_And my heart used to be cold_

_Til your hands laid on my soul_

_Baby, that's why you're beautiful_

* * *

_Tonight was a night for endings, Bonnie thought as she rushes up the stairs to her bedroom. Her dad stood in her wake as she breezes past him. She didn't have time to explain the cause of her watery eyes. She could barely understand the cause herself, since her suffering was her own fault. Didn't she deserve these tears for how she treated the one person who'd loved her for her? She'd turned her back on him, she'd abandoned him, she'd neglected him so what could she really expect. Damon was a lot of things, but he was no longer the type to stay where he wasn't wanted. He'd done that with Elena and a lot of good that did him. _

Bonnie curls up on top of her purple duvet, pulling Damon's shirt tightly around her.

_It was over. He was gone. She would cry for their lost love tonight, and hopefully tomorrow she would learn to smile through the pain. _

"Bonnie are you okay? Did something happen with Jeremy?" her dad asks through the closed bedroom door.

"Everything is fine dad. I'm just tired," she lies through tears

_Rudy can sense that something is truly troubling his daughter and he is pretty sure that it is Damon Salvatore. She misses him. He was so proud of the woman Bonnie was becoming. She was selfless. So for some reason she felt like she didn't deserve the happiness the boy had brought her. Rudy knew she was wrong, but he also knew that he could do nothing to change her mind. So he did what he could do, he gave her space to mourn quietly. _

"I'll be downstairs if you need me sweetie," he tells her before quickly descending the stairs.

_She knew her dad was worried about her. She didn't want him to be. She didn't want Damon to leave. She didn't want Tyler to die. But it seems that right now her life was filled with things that she didn't want to happen. Bonnie needed to get over this, to get back to herself. But how could she? Everywhere she went there was a reminder of the love that she had lost. The kitchen where she'd taught him how to make an omelet, the Grill where they had their first kiss, and school where he had proposed to her, were all now tainted with painful memories. _

Somewhere during all of the tears, regrets, and sorrow, Bonnie allowed herself to fall asleep.

She dreamt of the life she had lived and the happiness that she'd experienced when she fell in love with the vampire.

Another knock at her bedroom door stirred her from her dreams, abruptly ending the peace that she had stumbled upon in reliving her memories.

"Yeah?" she said with a voice filled with sleep.

"Honey, could you come downstairs for a moment?" her dad called

"Dad, I'm tired. Whatever it is I'll see it in the morning."

"No it's…someone is here to see you."

"Tell Jeremy that I'm okay, and I'll call him in the morning."

"It's not little Gilbert," replied a voice that did not belong to her father or Jeremy

_No this was the very same voice that she had been dreaming about mere moments ago. This voice belonged to the man that she never thought that she would see again. This voice belonged to Damon. _

_It couldn't be, could it? He was gone, she'd searched his house herself. But if that was the case and he was truly miles away then who was standing on the other side of her door?_

Bonnie gets up slowly and walks towards the door, hesitantly turning the knob. She pulls the door back, steeling herself for the disappointment that she was certain she would encounter when she saw that Damon was not outside of her room.

As the door opens she looks to the left where her father stood with folded arms and an unexplained grimace and standing next to him was a sharply dressed man in an ink black suit and a snow white shirt. The suit matched his dark hair perfectly, while the shirt was a compliment to his pale skin. Bonnie looks down at her prom dress that equaled the blue of his eyes. It was Damon. _Her _Damon.

The girl's jaw drops and she stands stunned at the sight of the vampire as if he were a ghost.

"Thanks dad, I got it from here," Damon says to Rudy.

"I said that you should come visit her, but that doesn't mean that you can call me dad," Rudy warns as he leaves the couple alone.

Once he is sure that Rudy was back in his chair in the living room watching the game, Damon speaks again, "so are you going to invite me into your room?"

"I…I…yes come in," Bonnie stutters having a difficult time finding her words.

She moves aside to let Damon enter the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I like your shirt. I think I have one just like it," he grins knowingly.

Bonnie blushes at the grin.

"You're here," she says

"Where else would I be?"

"Your boxes…I saw them. You were gone, but now you're here."

"Well I thought I would show up one more time to make sure little Gilbert was a gentleman on your date."

"Dressed like that?"

"If he wasn't on his best behavior then I would have had to go into the prom to kick his ass, I just wanted to do it in style."

"Oh. Listen Damon I know…"she begins

"Bonnie we don't have to do this. The whole postmortem thing," he interrupts

"No, that's not what I'm doing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'll tell you if you just shut up and listen."

"From judgey to feisty. I like it," the vampire smirks

"I'm sorry Damon. I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm sorry I was such and idiot. I'm sorry I let you leave. I'm sorry…I'm just so sorry I hurt you," her voice breaks with a steady stream of tears.

"Hey," Damon says walking towards her.

He wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest, softly stroking her brown locks.

"I love you. I still love you and I want you. I want to be with you. And I know that I said I couldn't stay with you after everything, but I can. If you can forgive me? Please forgive me," she cries

"There is nothing to forgive Bonnie," he says quietly

"I turned my back on you. If you love someone, you never leave no matter what," she states

"I was leaving town," he offers

"I pushed you to leave."

"But I was still going to go."

"It doesn't matter. None of it matters. Only you Damon. You're the only thing that matters," she says looking up at him.

Bonnie stands on her tiptoes so that her mouth could meet his for a kiss. It's soft and warm and all that is comfort. The familiar feel of his lips moving against hers, of his tongue softly massaging her own, is everything that she had missed and never thought she would have again. Damon ends their reunion kiss by placing three soft pecks on her lips, before letting her settle back onto his chest.

"There is something you should know," he says after a while.

"I know all that I need to Damon. I know that I love you and you love me and that's enough."

"No, it's something I _need_ to tell you. I just don't know how you'll react to it."

She can hear the concern in his voice, "Tell me anything. Nothing you can do or say will make me leave you again. I promise."

"That's good to know."

"If you want to tell me Damon, then you can."

"Tyler is alive."

"What?" she questions pushing away from him just a little so that she could see his eyes.

"I didn't kill him. He needed some help. So I helped him fake his death."

"Does Caroline know?"

"She does now. He's at prom."

"Why would he want to fake his death?"

"Katherine."

"The root of all evil?"

"Yeah well she and her hell hounds descended on Mystic Falls a few weeks back."

"Why? I thought she was hiding from Klaus. So why come to the one place that she knows for sure he will be?"

"That's why she came. She wanted her freedom. She thought that if she gave Klaus something that he wanted more than her, then she could have it."

"What does he want more than her?"

"He _wanted _Tyler, the hybrid-slayer."

"Wanted?"

"When Katherine came sniffing around me. I knew something was up so I followed her and sure enough she was planning on taking Tyler out so that she could gain Klaus's favor."

"So then what did you do?"

"I told Tyler. And we talked about it and we came up with a plan to fake his death and let Katherine think that she had won, and when she least expected it we would vervain her and deliver her to Klaus on a silver platter."

"When is this supposed to happen?"

"It happened tonight. She came to visit me to rub her victory in my face and I injected her with the vervain. Tyler dragged her to Klaus. And so I guess he is free and clear now."

"You did that for Tyler?" she questions

"I did that for you," he states

"Oh Damon," she can't even finish her sentence all she can do his wrap her arms around his neck and hold on for dear life. She nuzzles her face into his neck, and inhales the perfect fragrance of Damon Salvatore.

After some time, Damon speaks, "So do you go to prom with me? I'm all dressed up, plus I really want to make everyone else jealous."

"I can think of no one else that I would rather go with."

* * *

_The prom was beautiful to every girl in the room, including Bonnie Bennett. She knew a thing or two about beauty. She knew the romance of distant barns with large oaks trees where soft lights twinkled to the sound of soft rock. She knew of waking up in the arms of the person you were meant to spend the rest of your life with. Most of all she knew the rare beauty that was the love of Damon Salvatore. She hoped that she would know these things forever. And that these things would be only hers to know. He came back for her and she would not be left behind again._

"So I see that you found my brother," Stefan says walking up to the couple as soon as they enter the gym.

"Yeah, he was playing hide-and-seek in one of those boxes. Thanks for letting me borrow your car by the way," she says handing him his keys back

"No problem. I was just happy to help."

"Well you did your part, now your presence is less helpful and more annoying," Damon says

"Okay, Damon. Have a good night you two," Stefan chuckles before trotting off.

"Do you want to dance?"

"With you? Always," Bonnie smiles.

The vampire returns her smile and takes her hand leading her to the dance floor. He places his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him. It was what she had fantasied about when she was dancing with Jeremy and now it was a reality.

They begin to softly sway along with the music. Each time he turns her around, she is comforted by the view of Caroline and Tyler also dancing together on the far side of the room. Her best friend was happy again, and so was she and it was all because of Damon.

"Look at us,"

"Look at you. That dress is amazing by the way."

"Thank you, I bought it because it reminded me of your eyes."

"Well my eyes want to thank you for the homage, by staring at you all night."

Bonnie rolls her eyes before continuing, "Like I was saying, look at us. A year ago if you tried to dance with me, I would have probably witchy migrained you."

"Let's put, on some kind of paper, that you won't witchy migraine me when we are married. Even if I forget to take out the trash."

"I won't. Damon I don't ever want to hurt you again."

He stares at her intently for a moment before speaking again, "it's called détente."

"What is?"

"What happened with us. It's the easing of tensions or strained relations. You know like we went from war, to cooperation, to peace, to me seeing you naked."

"When you put it that way, it sounds like a love story."

"It does doesn't it? I should sell the rights."

"Who would play you?"

"I would have to be someone really badass, to make up for how much less attractive than me he will be."

"So vain."

"Well, when I girl buys a prom dress to match your eyes then, you have something to be confident about."

"Okay, Mr. Confident let's go and get a group picture with everybody and then let's get lost."

"I thought you would never ask"

* * *

Once the photo was taken, the couple said their goodbyes and Bonnie left the prom for the second time that night.

Damon was being mysterious and cryptic, more so than usual. She'd assumed that after they left the dance then they would head to _their_ barn, but he said he had something else in mind.

They'd been driving for fifteen minutes when they pull up outside a lot that housed luxury condominiums.

He walks around the car to open the passenger door, and then holds her hand as he leads the way inside of one of the condos.

It was big, huge even. High ceilings, large windows, type of big. She wondered how Damon had found a place this chic in the little town.

"What do you think?"

"It's nice."

"Nice? Just nice?'

"Damon, it's perfect. Why are we here?'

"I bought it for us."

"You did what? When did you have the time we were broken up for like a month?"

"We were on a hiatus, and I bought it before then, when you were still living with Elena."

"Why though?" she questions

"I didn't want you to live with Jeremy," he admits

"So you bought me a house?"

"A condo," he corrects

"What do you do with it now?"

"I moved in here. That's why all my boxes were packed at the boardinghouse."

"So you were going to stay in town all along?"

"I wasn't at first. But when you fell asleep in my arms, I knew I wouldn't leave you. I couldn't."

"Damon that's…"

"I want you to move it with me," he says suddenly

"Yes," she answers immediately

"Really it's that easy?"

"Yes. I miss you. If we didn't live here then I would force you to move in with me, or I would move into the boardinghouse. It could get really uncomfortable for my dad and Stefan."

"So what about your whole independence thing?"

"I don't care about proving to myself that I can stand alone without you anymore. I've been alone without you and it sucks."

"Hiatus's are a bitch."

"Can I have my ring back?"

"Yes," Damon digs into his wallet and presents her with the ring.

Bonnie takes it and kneels down on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm proposing to you."

"With the ring that I gave you?"

"How about you be quiet and let me do it chatty Kathy."

"Proceed."

"Damon. We have been through so much together. So much. We've both lost a lot, but I think we gained a lot too. You rescued me. I was alone. And you rescued me. I think that we both did things that we aren't proud of and I just hope we can move forward. I didn't trust you when I should have and I didn't believe you when I should have. To be honest I guess that as much as I loved you and as much as I put into our relationship. I was still holding back. I was scared that you would hurt me and then there would be nothing left. But not anymore. If you'll have me then you can have all of me. I belong to you Damon. Forever."

Bonnie finished her speech, but Damon said nothing. Instead he joined her on the floor.

"I can't blame you for not believing in me. I've hurt you a lot. I see some of your emotional scars and I know that I was the one that caused them. That's hard for me. Part of me wants you to realize that I am the villain and I can't be saved. But the other part wants me to try and be the hero at least when it comes to you. I just want to be somebody that deserves you. Because you deserve everything Bonnie. I want to be the one that gives it to you. We belong to each other. Forever."

"I love you," she whispers

"I love you too. More than anything, well more than most things" he replies as he puts his hands around her waist.

"What do you love more than me? Your own reflection?" she questions with a laugh

"He_ is_ a handsome devil, you have to admit that"

"He is, but to be honest I think his brother might be a little bit cuter."

"You're going to regret that," he grins, before pulling her into a kiss.

Once the kiss is over, Damon slides the ring on Bonnie's finger.

Tonight was a night for endings, but something else was beginning. _This _was their new beginning. This time they would cherish it and protect it.

_The End_

* * *

**So this is the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. Your feedback has meant a lot to me and my writing. I am think about writing a one-shot epilogue. Let me know if that is something you might be interested in. I love you guys J**


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